Punctured tanker dumps 3,500 gallons of gas along Rt. 66
GREENSBURG, Pa. (AP) — Emergency responders in western Pennsylvania were able to prevent an estimated 3,500 gallons of gasoline from contaminating a major source of drinking water for Westmoreland County.
The Pittsburgh Tribune-Review reports the gas flowed from a tanker truck that ruptured along Route 66 in Salem Township just before 5 p.m. Sunday.
The truck had just left the Sunoco Logistics Partners fuel terminal when the tanker portion of the vehicle separated from the front of the tractor-trailer. Gas started flowing into a catch basin that leads to a tributary of Beaver Run Reservoir.
Bob Rosatti, chief of the Forbes Road Volunteer Fire Department, says emergency crews dug a series of dams to contain the gasoline before it reached the creek.
Pennsylvania State Police are investigating the accident.