YOUNGSTOWN Search continues for stolen rig

The rig's driver abandoned the tanker at 3:40 a.m. Tuesday.
YOUNGSTOWN -- The search continued today for the tractor that left the scene after the tanker it was hauling spilled a tar-based substance on a stretch of North Meridian Road.
Ronald Dota, shop foreman at All Coatings Inc., told police the rig was stolen sometime Tuesday from the business at 1301 N. Meridian Road with about 5,500 gallons of the slippery substance. A pump was damaged when the rig pulled out of the All Coatings yard.
Richard Brothers, operations manager at All Coatings, told police he secured the business at 6:30 p.m. Monday and, at that time, the tanker was parked in an open area.
All Coatings is the new name for the former Sentco Paint, police said.
Abandoned at truck stop
The rig's driver abandoned the tanker at 3:40 a.m. Tuesday at the Petro truck stop near the Interstate 680 ramp on North Meridian and drove off in the tractor.
The usual driver, a Dryden Avenue man, could not be reached because he recently moved and the business did not have updated information on him, police were told.
The spill Tuesday closed the section of North Meridian that stretches from Salt Springs Road to the truck stop, roughly a half-mile.
A sand-and-gravel mixture was used in the northbound lane in an effort to absorb the slippery substance.
An inspection of the tanker by police revealed that the hatch cover on top was open and a 20-foot hose with two clamps still attached extended from the rear to the ground.
The trailer was towed and is being held by the police department.