HILLSBOROUGH COUNTY, Fla. (WFLA) — Part of a major highway in Hillsborough County was closed for seven hours after a truck carrying gasoline overturned and caused a large spill.
The crash happened at around noon at the intersection of US-41 and Madison Avenue in Palm River-Clair Mel, according to the Florida Highway Patrol. FHP said the driver was trying to turn onto Madison Avenue and lost control of the truck, causing it to overturn onto the shoulder.
FHP said the truck spilled “a large volume” of gas onto the highway and the shoulder of the road. The truck driver was not hurt in the crash.
Hillsborough County Fire Rescue’s hazardous materials unit responded to the site of the crash. They sprayed the gas with foam to suppress the fumes as they worked to stop the leak and then drilled holes into the tanker so they could drain the remaining gas out.
HCFR said they recovered 90% of the gas inside the tanker. It took nineteen units over seven hours to take care of the spill.
