Southbound semi truck crashed into the Highway 22 overpass at Caddo, OHBy KXII-TV |
Updated: Wed 10:37 PM, Aug 24, 2016
CADDO, Okla. (KXII) -- Oklahoma Highway Patrol Troopers are on scene Wednesday assisting Caddo Police Department with a fatality accident involving a commercial vehicle.
Hazmat crews were called to the scene of a chemical spill caused by a deadly semi crash this afternoon in Bryan County
Because the CDC says the chemical is strong enough to cause serious skin burns and a burning sensation if inhaled.
"We have had some reports of follow-on exposures and we have responded emergency personnel to those locations."
First responders tell us at least 6 people were exposed to the sulfuric acid, suffering minor skin irritations.
But the chemical can be deadly.
"Extremely dangerous if you've suffered a significant exposure."
OHP Lieutenant Scott Hampton says a half-mile perimeter around the crash site has been closed off until haz-mat cleans up the acid.
But the clean-up could take a while.
"Could be four to six hours to days depending on the amount of material released and what the material is," Hampton said.
Emergency officials say they're not sure what kind of damage the chemical spill and crash have done to the roads.
"Its own characteristics that can be seen but it all depends on your level of exposure," Hampton said.
"The damage to the bridge...we really don't have a good feel for that just yet until the scene can be cleared and its deemed safe because of the chemical spill."
ODOT says their main concern is the bridge, and what the repairs will need to be made.
"You can see some damage but until the site is deemed safe enough people to enter and take a look we just simply don't know," said ODOT Division Engineer Anthony Echelle.
They say they're ready to begin working as soon as they get the green-light.
"Depends on the magnitude of the damage, but I would expect that soon we would have a repair underway," Echelle said.
Troopers don't yet know what caused the semi to crash, but confirm that the driver was ejected and pronounced dead at the scene.
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Caddo Public Schools Closed Thursday Following Semi Accident/ Hazmat Cleanup Posted: Aug 24, 2016 9:11 PM EST
CADDO, OK -- A major highway in Texoma is shut down Wednesday night and will stay that way for hours.
Oklahoma State Troopers say a truck driver is dead after a crash in Bryan County. They say the truck was carrying acid which spilled all over the roadway there.
Caddo Public Schools will be closed Thursday. The superintendent says the campus will not be open because of the accident.
While local and state agencies work to clean up the mess, traffic is being directed around the area.
We're told the chemical is not a danger to other drivers and the community.
It happened around 4 p.m. at the intersection of Highway 69 and Highway 22 in Caddo.
Troopers say a truck carrying sulphuric acid crashed and the chemical spilled all over the roadway.
The driver of that truck has died. We're not sure how the crash happened or who the man is.
We're told crews will have that part of the highway shut down for several more hours Wednesday night.
“Fatality accidents are unfortunately pretty common,” said Lt. Scott Hampton with the Oklahoma Highway Patrol, “accidents with spills of this magnitude are fairly rare thank goodness."
The Choctaw Nation was able to bring out their Mobile Emergency Center to help assist first responders. Lt. Hampton says in events like this, the center is a life line.
"It's rare to actually have something of this size that's able to be here within the hour like the nation's been able to bring out to us,” he said. “It's a life saver to bring out to events like this."
We're told the spill has been contained. Durant firefighters are handling the release of the chemical. In the meantime, the trucking company has sent a hazmat clean-up crew.
All lanes of Highway 69/75 reopened after acid spill
By Brittany Harlow |
Posted: Thu 6:08 PM, Aug 25, 2016 |
Updated: Fri 8:13 PM, Aug 26, 2016
CADDO, Okla.- One man was killed and three others were injured after a semi hauling sulfuric acid crashed Wednesday afternoon around 4.
Highway 69/75 was closed while a Hazmat team cleaned up the spill. All lanes of 75 are now back open.
Oklahoma Highway Patrol said 49-year-old Randy Perkins of Sapulpa was driving southbound on Highway 69/75 when he drove up the embankment and into the Highway 22 Bridge.
“Witnesses said that basically the truck just ran off the right side of the road and hit the bridge,” OHP Lt. Scott Hampton said. “No other vehicle involvement or anything.”
Perkins was ejected 15 feet and pronounced dead at the scene.
500 gallons of sulfuric acid was spilled across the highway as a result of the crash.
Chris Farrell drove over the Highway 22 Bridge Wednesday afternoon, not realizing sulfuric acid had splashed up from a semi wreck beneath him.
“When I hit the brakes to slow down to turn on the on ramp it started sliding around," Farrell said.
Farrell said he noticed black foam pouring down the side of the highway, which he later realized to be asphalt, melted by the acid.
“Hazmat crew actually told me they had two or three places to go before they got here," Farrell said. "One of them was someone’s house and vehicle. I think they said they had to wash a school bus, I guess some people walking in it then walking on the bus.”
Bobby Burgess is a utility worker for Caddo. He said the crash has been a concern for the whole area, and he worried they would have to be evacuated.
“Heard that some people got their feet burned, trying to help out,” Burgess said. “The acid ate through their shoes and they had to go to the hospital.”
“They did require some medical treatment and were seen at local hospitals,” Hampton said.
All three were treated and released.
The Highway 22 Bridge remains closed.
ODOT Division Engineer Anthony Echelle said they have not been able to get close enough to the bridge to fully assess the damage and determine what needs to be done to fix it.
“When the truck drove up the embankment the tractor and the trailer struck one of the beams and so the outside beam, the north beam, has a bend where the impact occurred,” Echelle said.
Echelle said they have no timetable of when it will reopen.
ODOT said they don’t have a lot of experience with sulfuric acid spilling all over their bridges and they are calling in a consultant to perform the necessary chemical tests next week.
Environmental testing will also have to be done before any repairs can begin.
Hampton said the area around the spill no longer poses a threat to the public, but any vehicle that drove through the acid before the highway was shut down needs to go through a decontamination process.
People who need to make a vehicle claim are instructed to call Kevin King with Groendyke Transport at 1-855-522-4024. Anyone with information about what lead up to the crash is asked to call OHP.