Car comes within half-inch of puncturing semi-truck carrying sulfuric acid in I-90 collision

A vehicle come within a hair’s breadth of puncturing a semi-truck carrying sulfuric acid this week along I-90 at Snoqualmie Pass.

‘Never seen anything like it,’ says trooper after semi-truck folds car in half

The incident occurred after a driver collided with the tanker of a semi-truck carrying sulfuric acid amid snowy conditions at the pass. Because of the risk posed by the acid potentially spilling out of the tanker, the Washington State Department of Transportation shut down the highway in both directions for hours.

WSDOT estimates that the vehicle was positioned just a half-inch away from puncturing the tanker’s valve. Had that occurred, sulfuric acid could have flowed into the neighboring Cle Elum River, contaminating the water supply for Cle Elum residents in process.

Responders were able to safely remove the driver of the vehicle by taking air out of the front tires, creating enough space to extricate them from the vehicle without damaging the tanker. Officials with the state Department of Ecology were on hand as well to help oversee the operation.

This follows a recent troubling trend on Western Washington freeways throughout the last month.

“This has been the case all winter — drivers have been driving too fast for conditions,” WSDOT spokesperson Summer Derry told KIRO Radio.

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