Truck hits embankment; Canton driver is killed

The tanker was moved to a field where the liquid oxygen was expected to leak out.
STAFF/WIRE REPORTS
NEW CASTLE, Pa. -- The driver of a truck carrying liquefied oxygen likely fell asleep at the wheel and was killed in a fiery crash Wednesday morning in Neshannock Township, police said.
Johnny Smith's tanker truck hit an embankment and an overpass at about 1:40 a.m., slid along a bridge railing onto its side and went over an embankment, according to Neshannock Township police Superintendent Philip Carlo.
Police received numerous calls from other motorists reporting the crash, which caught the truck cab and the bridge on fire.
Smith, 34, of Canton, Ohio, worked for Linde Co., a Cleveland firm that sells gases, and was traveling to Ellwood Quality Steel in New Castle, said Russell S. Noga, Lawrence County Coroner.
Officials said the company sends four tankers filled with liquefied fuels to New Castle each day.
Autopsy planned
An autopsy on Smith was planned for late Wednesday, Noga said. According to the coroner, there were no skid marks at the scene and officials believe Smith fell asleep or swerved to miss an animal.
The liquid oxygen, which is stored at very low temperatures, continued to escape from the truck throughout the day. At about 2:30 p.m. the tanker was moved to a nearby field where the cargo was expected to continue to evaporate throughout today in a slow leak, said John DiCola, Neshannock Township fire chief.
Environmental consultants told fire officials that the liquid oxygen is only harmful if it comes in contact with gasoline or oil, DiCola said.
It appears the fire was ignited by the truck's gasoline tanks and it was the fuel in the tank and the truck's cab and tires and brush that were burning, not the liquid oxygen, DiCola said.
He noted that four nearby homes were evacuated as a precaution during the day.
North and southbound lanes on Pa. Route 60 were closed most of the day, reopening just before 5 p.m. Wednesday. The right lane of the southbound lane was expected to remain closed today as Pennsylvania Department of Transportation crews repaired guard rails on the roadway, DiCola said.
What happened
DiCola said it appears the cab of Smith's truck hit the guardrail first and sent the tanker filled with liquid oxygen over the guardrails onto Old Pulaski Road. Fire officials suspect the tanker stood vertically with the rear end on the ground before the cab was went over the side of the Route 60 overpass.
DiCola said the plumbing on the rear of the truck used to release the fuel was destroyed by the fall and company officials were unable to transfer the fuel to an empty tanker sent from Canton.
DiCola said the cab was pulled apart with the wheels and the bottom frame remaining on Route 60 and the rest of the cab going over the side.
Consultants from Linde Corp. advised the firefighters to let the fire burn itself out.
"It was a tricky situation and everyone worked together," said Brian Melcer, Lawrence County's public safety director.
Melcer said 10 fire departments, including two from Ohio, assisted police and Haz-Mat crews.
"We planned every move and it pretty much went like clockwork, but it took all day," DiCola said.
XContributor: Laure Cioffi of The Vindicator Pennsylvania Bureau.