A truck hauling contaminated soil from the train derailment clean-up site in East Palestine, Ohio, crashed in Columbiana County on Monday, spilling half its load, CBS News affiliate KDKA in Pittsburgh reported.
State troopers were called to the scene of a single-vehicle crash involving a tractor-trailer on state Route 165 near Waterford Road at about 1:00 pm on Monday, according to the Ohio State Highway Patrol
In a press release, the Highway Patrol said that based on the preliminary investigation, the truck was traveling northbound when it went off the side of the road, striking a ditch and utility pole before overturning.
According to officials, the truck was carrying 40,000 pounds of contaminated soil (20 tons) from East Palestine at the time of the crash. About half of the soil spilled onto the road and the berm. The Ohio Environmental Protection Agency said the spilled soil was contained and posed no threat to nearby waterways, according to the press release.
The driver, Phillip S. Falck, 74, of McDonald, Pennsylvania, sustained only minor injuries in the crash. He was cited for operating a vehicle without reasonable control, according to WFMJ News in Youngstown.
The road was closed while crews worked to clear the soil from the site.
According to a nearby resident, officials from the Ohio EPA were doing a thorough job cleaning up the soil.
Resident Tony Lamia told WFMJ that crews not only removed the soil that spilled during the crash, but they also dug down to remove the existing soil in the area before putting down new soil and grass seed.
More than two months after a Norfolk Southern train derailed in East Palestine, Ohio, the removal of contaminated water and soil continues.
On Monday, Ohio officials said around 11.4 million gallons of wastewater and 19,900 tons of soil have been removed from the area.
