A rollover accident involving a commercial vehicle on the northbound off-ramp of Highway 77 led to the closing of the highway early Monday morning due to a spill of aviation fuel and pesticides.
According to South Sioux City Fire Chief Doug Koopman, his department received a call about 7:05 a.m. Monday to provide mutual aid for a rollover accident involving a commercial vehicle on the northbound off-ramp of Highway 77 to westbound Highway 20.
A commercial agricultural aircraft support vehicle carrying about 500 gallons of aviation fuel had rolled over off the ramp. The driver of the vehicle was assisted out of the vehicle by a Dakota County Sheriff’s deputy and was found to have sustained serious, but non-life-threatening injuries and was taken to MercyOne Siouxland Medical Center for evaluation.
In addition to the aviation fuel, multiple boxes of agricultural pesticide was dumped at the scene, and the vehicle’s diesel fuel tank had ruptured, resulting in a diesel spill.
Dakota County Emergency Management and the Sioux City Fire Rescue HazMat team responded to the scene, and a safety perimeter was established that halted northbound traffic on Highway 77 while stabilization and hazard mitigation operations were underway.
Further investigation determined that several pesticide containers had ruptured and spilled their contents. Fortunately, the aviation fuel tank, while dislodged from the vehicle, remained intact and did not leak. Meier Towing and Dirty Sioux Hazmat Cleanup worked to safely remove the vehicle and contaminated materials, and the scene was cleared by about 11:40 a.m.
Assisting SSCFD in the incident were the Dakota County Sheriff’s Office, Dakota City Fire Department, South Sioux City Police Department, Dakota County Emergency Management, Sioux City Fire Rescue HazMat Team, Nebraska State Patrol and private recovery contractors.
