Collision on Rt. 8 causes fuel to spill
SLIPPERY ROCK TWP — A man was flown to a Pittsburgh hospital following a two-vehicle accident that resulted in a fuel spill around 11 a.m. Tuesday on Route 8 north in Slippery Rock Township, according to Slippery Rock Fire Capt. Kurt Reasner.
A man driving a pickup truck was heading north when he slowed to turn left into a driveway just north of the intersection with Branchton Road.
A truck hauling 150 gallons of diesel fuel was behind the pickup truck and moved to pass it.
The pickup truck clipped the tankard truck with its front end.
“The (tankard truck) tried to go around, went on the hillside and lost control,” Reasner said.
The truck tipped over onto the road and fell onto its right side, causing all 150 gallons of diesel fuel to leak onto the road.
The man driving the tankard truck suffered broken bones but was conscious and alert with non-life threatening injuries when he was flown by Stat Medevac to UPMC Presbyterian in Pittsburgh. The man driving the pickup truck was not injured.
The pickup truck was towed. Traffic was blocked from Branchton Road to Route 108 on Route 8 for several hours following the accident. The Butler County HazMat Team 100 was on scene and oil-dry absorbants were used to clean up the gas.
A recovery team was sent to pull the tankard truck upright so it could be removed from the road. Volunteer fire departments from Slippery Rock, Unionville and Harrisville were on the scene, as well as Slippery Rock Ambulance and state police.
The names of the drivers were not available.
