Driver hurt when truck overturns
Vehicle loaded with anhydrous ammonia
Staff writer
The driver of a semi loaded with anhydrous ammonia had to be taken to McPherson Hospital after it overturned on US-56 near Alamo Rd. at 10:11 p.m. Monday.
The wreck happened where the highway curves. Hillsboro firefighters, summoned to assist, were at the scene until after 4:30 a.m. Tuesday.
“We were really fortunate there was no ammonia leakage, but we stayed there through the night during the cleanup,” fire chief Ben Stekette said.
Stekette said the tractor was disengaged from the trailer and towed away before the company worked to remove the trailer.
“They ended up transferring the load to another tanker before they hauled off the trailer,” he said.
Sheriff Rob Craft said he doesn’t know why the eastbound semi went onto the shoulder of the road and overturned.
“There were apparently minor injuries to the driver,” Craft said.
At most 10 gallons of anhydrous was released during the process of moving the ammonia to a different tanker, Craft said.
“Everybody was protected, they knew what they were doing,” he said.
US-56 was closed off and on during the cleanup.
“It went about as well as it could — it was just a long, drawn-out process,” Craft said.