A one vehicle accident involving a tanker truck loaded with gasoline happened at approximately 11:45 a.m. Monday morning.
Emergency officials explained that the driver, who has yet to be identified, lost control of the truck, which turned over on its side, while traveling northbound on Highway 49 near Richard Joiner Road in Magee.
The driver was transported to Jackson for medical attention. Both north and south bound lanes on Highway 49 were blocked near the area. Traffic was rerouted through Highway 149 to bypass the wreckage.
The lane blockage lasted approximately 9 hours, and emergency officials received some criticism. Magee Fire Department was on the scene and Fire Chief Lane Steele shed some light on the situation saying, “When we got there the truck was lying on its side and one of the compartment doors had been compromised. About 50 to 100 gallons of product had escaped from the truck.”
He said it took them about 5 minutes to stop the leak, and from there the scene had to be secured for safety. He explained that it was too much of a risk to allow travelers into the area because the slightest spark from a discarded cigarette or vehicle could ignite the spilled gasoline. After the scene was secured Department of Environmental Quality agents were dispatched to assess the situation and oversee the cleanup. Steele said the Magee Fire Department volunteers stood by as a crew came from Byram to transfer the remaining gasoline in the tanker. He explained that the plumbing under the truck was damaged so the crew had to bored holes into the truck and set up a pumping system to off load the fuel.
Steele said, “We manned two hose teams during this process, and stayed on the scene for a little over 9 hours. That’s why it took so long and we know it was an inconvenience to the motoring public.” Highway 49 was opened later that night.
