Very early Thursday morning, June 11th, multiple agencies were dispatched to reports of a major injury solo-vehicle semi tanker rollover crash, involving hazardous materials occurred on U.S. Hwy. 199 just before 4:00am.
Following the overturned semi tanker hazmat incident, U.S. Hwy. 199 was shut down for hours as crews worked to contain the spill and rescue the driver who required extrication after sustaining major injuries.
As a result of the accident, an unknown quantity of asphalt binder, a heavy, semi-solid petroleum product used in road construction to bind aggregate materials together, was released and entered the Middle Fork of the Smith River.
Personnel from the California Department of Fish and Wildlife’s Office of Spill Prevention and Response, Caltrans, and the California Highway Patrol are on scene. and an environmental cleanup contractor is en route to assess site clean up efforts.
Traffic on U.S. Hwy. 199 was interrupted for several hours with early closure before single lane controlled traffic and ultimately reopening Thursday evening.
