KAUFMAN COUNTY, Texas — Eastbound Interstate 20 is closed, and will be for several hours, after separate crashes resulted in a diesel fuel spill and one person being airlifted to a Dallas-area hospital.
KAUFMAN COUNTY, Texas — Eastbound Interstate 20 is closed, and will be for several hours, after separate crashes resulted in a diesel fuel spill and one person being airlifted to a Dallas-area hospital.
At approximately 5:40 p.m., the College Mound Fire Department was dispatched to eastbound Interstate 20 just west of the Kaufman-Van Zandt County line for a two-vehicle crash.
A heavy-duty wrecker hauling a truck-tractor was attempting to avoid the crash when it struck an interstate bridge and guardrail over Rocky Cedar Creek. The collision ripped open one of the truck-tractor's saddle tanks and resulted in approximately 100 gallons of fuel to spill on the roadway and the creek below, Kaufman County Office of Emergency Management Coordinator Steve Howie told inForney.com.
As a result of both crashes, eastbound Interstate 20 has been closed at Farm-to-Market (FM) 429. Traffic is being advised to detour north on FM 429 to U.S. Highway 80 into Wills Point.
A HAZMAT crew was dispatched to the scene for cleanup.
As of 7 p.m., the highway was expected to remain closed for several hours.
Nine patients were evaluated in the initial two-vehicle crash, according to College Mound Fire Department Safety Officer Terry Van Sickle, and a mass casualty incident was declared. Two of the patients were transported by ground ambulance and one was airlifted to a Dallas-area hospital. None of the injuries are thought to be life threatening.
Firefighters also responded to a secondary minor fender-bender in the backup.
A separate crash involving an overturned 18-wheeler on Spur 557 in Terrell has also prompted a HAZMAT response.
This is a developing story.