Tuesday, January 26, 1999
I-75 reopened after gas spill
BY MIRIAM SMITH
The Cincinnati Enquirer
Current traffic conditions from Cincinnati.Com/Traffic
UNION TOWNSHIP — Traffic was moving on Interstate 75 again this morning after a gasoline truck that overturned on Monday afternoon was moved out and the gasoline cleaned up overnight.
The right lane was scheduled to be closed at 7 a.m. for about two hours so cleanup could continue.
The spill on the southbound lanes just south of the Cincinnati-Dayton Road exit forced thousands of motorists off the highway for more than 15 hours and sparked concerns about deadly explosions.
Safety and fire crews scrambled through the night and into this morning trying to wash off about 2,000 gallons of gasoline. The tanker was carrying about 8,900 gallons.
At one point Monday, southbound traffic in Butler County was backed up nearly 7 miles to Ohio 63.
The tanker went off the highway about 12:30 p.m. after being sideswiped by a car. The car was in the far left lane when traffic in front of it slowed, the Ohio State Highway Patrol said. Unable to stop in time, the car swerved across two lanes and struck the tanker in the right lane.
The truck driver, Michael H. Marlar, 50, of the 4000 block of Independence Drive in Cherry Grove, was trapped in the overturned tanker's cab for more than a half-hour. Both he and the driver of the car, Richard T. Helm, 22, of West Chester, were taken to Mercy Hospital Fairfield, where they were treated for minor injuries and released.
Mr. Helm was cited for improper lane usage and having no operator's license. He was driving with a temporary permit, the highway patrol said.
The potential for explosion was “very high,” said Union Township Administrator David Gully, who was among those helping to coordinate the dozens of local, area and state emergency officials at the scene.
Mr. Gully credited the Union Township Maintenance Department with building a makeshift earthen dam on a creek feeding into the Mill Creek. An estimated 1,000 gallons of gasoline spilled into the small stream that feeds in the larger Mill Creek.
Firefighters sprayed foam on the road to quell the gasoline vapors, and safety officials were concerned about the possibility for explosions from sparks when they lifted the truck upright. The truck was operated by Emery Transportation of Newtown.
Southbound I-75 traffic was rerouted onto Cincinnati-Dayton Road, through Old West Chester, then to Union Centre Boulevard and onto I-75 south again.
Emergency crews from Union Township, Hamilton and the OEPA responded and coordinated pumping the remaining gas out of the overturned tanker.
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