State Patrol: Gas tanker crash caused 2 injuries, spilled thousands of gallons

Update 3/14 10:05 a.m.:

New details about a double fuel tanker wreck on I-5 near Lacey that slowed traffic to a crawl for hours Monday.

Washington state patrol troopers say two men– the 43-year-old driver of the tanker and a 21-year-old passenger– were taken to the hospital.

Troopers believe the driver was going too fast for the conditions, which caused the truck to roll.

Ty Keltner is with the Washington Department of Ecology spills program, said that one of the truck’s tanks was carrying about 7,000 gallons of gasoline, and it’s “intact.” The other tank was carrying about 4,000 gallons of diesel, and that did rupture, spilling into the highway drains.

The crash and cleanup took more than 11 hours.

Update 3/13 3:34 p.m.:

Fuel has been offloaded from the fuel tanks at the site of the crash, with crews now working to right the tanks and remove them from the scene. Travel continues to be reduced to one lane in this area.

Update 3/13 12:18 p.m.:

The tanker is still blocking the road way and will take several more hours to clean, according to Trooper Robert Reyer with the Washington State Patrol.

#UPDATE – The latest information from the scene indicates that this recovery operation will now potentially take several more hours and, possibly, might still be in progress during the evening commute!

This operation includes emptying the chambers of the tanks and their removal pic.twitter.com/IH89oPzp33

— Trooper Robert Reyer (@wspd1pio) March 13, 2023

Original:

A rolled-over tanker in Lacey is causing major backups on southbound Interstate 5 after a crash early Monday morning.

The double tanker semi-truck crashed near Carpenter Road NE at about 6 a.m. Monday morning.

Wrong-way driver arrested for DUI after crashing into semi on I-5

The tanker truck was carrying gasoline and when it rolled over, about half of its load spilled, according to the Washington State Department of Transportation. The other half remained in the tanker.

With a little more light, we are getting a better view of this rolled over fuel tanker SB 5 out of Lacey. Two right lanes are blocked. This is going to be a long term cleanup. @wsdot_traffic @wspd1pio pic.twitter.com/ZpAsLmNakT

— KIRO Newsradio Traffic (@KIROTraffic) March 13, 2023

Two people have been taken to the hospital with only minor injuries. The two right lanes remain blocked, with only one lane open for traffic to get by.

Shortly before 8 a.m., WSDOT said that the lane closure on southbound I-5 would last for an extended period on Monday due to the complex cleanup scene and recovery of the fuel.

Drivers are asked to avoid the area during the lane closure.

There is no estimated time for when the lanes will reopen.