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Truck driver found guilty, will pay fines
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Wesley Gilbert, 57, of Mentor-on-the-Lake, entered a no-contest plea in Youngstown Municipal Court for failing to control the truck he was driving that overturned at Interstate 680 at the 711 on ramp Feb. 14 that caused a large fuel spill. He was found guilty Monday and fined $100 and court costs.
YOUNGSTOWN
The truck driver charged with a fuel spill on Interstate 680 near the on ramp to the 711 Connector in February will pay a $100 fine and court costs for failure to maintain control of the truck.
Wesley Gilbert, 57, of Mentor-on-the-Lake, made an initial appearance Monday in Youngstown Municipal Court.
Police cited Gilbert for failure to maintain control in the Feb. 14 accident. He appeared for arraignment before Magistrate Anthony Sertick.
Gilbert pleaded no contest to the traffic violation, and Sertick found him guilty.
Sertick pointed out Gilbert was cited for speeding in January before the accident. The magistrate said Gilbert has had four moving violations in the last four years.
The magistrate ordered Gilbert to pay the $100 fine plus any court costs associated with the case.
Gilbert told police he was entering the 711 on ramp from Interstate 680 after picking up a load of fuel when he tapped the brakes on the truck and lost control. The truck overturned spilling thousands of gallons of fuel.
The overturned truck caused 2,000 of its 8,000 gallons of gasoline it was carrying to spill into the city’s sewer system.
Portions of both 711 and 1-680 were closed for hours.
The overturned truck belongs to Sines Inc. of Painesville.
Total cleanup costs have not been tallied, but police Chief Rod Foley said early estimates of the amount spent on overtime to handle the spill and traffic, were between $2,000 and $3,000.
The city likely will try to recoup some of those costs from the responsible party.