$36,000 Fuel Spill on the I-10
Early Friday morning a fuel tanker transporting about 9,000 gallons of fuel tipped over on the freeway after a crash. The truck driver was injured and had to be transported to the hospital. The tanker spilled more than 7,000 gallons of fuel across a San Bernardino freeway, at about $4.00 a gallon that equals to $36,000 of fuel wasted on the freeway. Motorists burned extra fuel while their commute was detoured or lengthened due to the freeway closure.
English: B-Double fuel tanker. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
The crash occurred at 2:40 a.m. on the westbound 10 west of Riverside Avenue. All lanes westbound were closed for four hours to prevent the risk of fire and injuries.
Witnesses claim that someone in a Toyota Camry struck the fuel tanker causing it to tip over and spill copious amounts of gasoline onto the freeway. Luckily, there was no fire and all lanes were reopened by 11:30 a.m.
It is reported that Twenty-five Rialto firefighters attended to the scene which was sensitive to fire and had a high possibility of igniting. They were able to take attend to the injured fuel tanker driver, while another group developed a system to keep the fuel from spreading on the freeway.
The driver of the fuel truck sustained minor injuries but was taken to a local hospital and treated there according to the San Bernardino Sun.
Quick response by the Hazmat team resulted in a clearing of nearly 9,000 gallons of fuel from the freeway and the inside of the tanker. They eliminating the chances of it catching on fire – crisis averted.
Fuel tanker accidents, if there’s a fire involved, often have catastrophic endings. Victims can die or even incur serious life-lasting injuries. Financially, such accidents end up costing millions of dollars in damages. The risk of a fuel catching on fire is high, even fumes are flammable.
If you, or someone you know, or care for were in a fuel tanker accident contact The Consumers Law Group today! While fuel tanker accidents are rare in this area, as long as there are fuel tankers on the roads of Riverside, the risk exists. Contact us! We’ll make sure you get taken care of with a Riverside injury lawyer today.
Time is of essence in these cases and a qualified team of experts which includes an injury lawyer, detectives and investigators will fight on your behalf to make sure the damages which you incurred are taken care of so that you don’t have to!
Reviewed by Chris H. in 2012.