Tanker crash ties up traffic, keeps crews busy

By JOE GORMAN | jgorman@vindy.com

LIBERTY

I80 Tanker Crash

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I 80 Tanker Crash

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Though traffic was moving again by late Thursday afternoon, Interstate 80 was snarled near state Route 711 most of the day after a truck filled with 8,500 gallons of gasoline tipped over

and caught fire.

Gus Birch, Liberty Township fire chief, said the ongoing construction that has shut down exit ramps on I-80 in Liberty made it difficult for his crews to respond when the call came about 6:10 a.m. to the accident in the eastbound lanes.

Birch said his crews had to fight traffic and construction to get there. He said a truck from Hubbard actually was first on the scene because it was coming from the westbound lanes on the interstate and it was easier to cross over the freeway.

The Ohio State Highway Patrol is investigating the accident. It said an eastbound tanker driven by Mark Cosgrove, 48, of Masury, drove off the right side of the road about 6:10 a.m. and burst into flames.

Cosgrove was taken to Sharon (Pa.) Regional Hospital and treated for minor injuries. The patrol did not say if charges have been filed.

Because of the danger from fire and smoke, the patrol removed about 100 drivers from the interstate, it said.

Crews from Hubbard and the Youngstown Air Force Reserve Station were instrumental in fighting the fire because they had foam equipment. Birch said water cannot be used on a gasoline fire and his department does not have foam.

Also on the scene were firefighters from Vienna and Fowler townships and the Trumbull County Hazardous Materials Team and the Environmental Protection Agency because of gas and foam that ran into ditches that also run into waterways.

Three vehicles were destroyed: the tanker, another truck and a car driven by a motorist who saw the accident and tried to help the tanker driver. The other two drivers were not injured.

Intense flames scorched the pavement, burned trees up to 25 feet and scorched about 100 yards of grass surrounding the highway. It took crews more than four hours to extinguish the fire.

At one point, crews had both lanes closed, then reopened the westbound portion of the freeway – only to close it again when the fire re-ignited.

The westbound lane opened for good about 11 a.m.; the eastbound lane reopened about 3:40 p.m.

As a result of the accident and cleanup, traffic was tied up on Belmont Avenue in Liberty and Gypsy Lane in Youngstown, as traffic heading east on I-80 was directed to those roads. Gypsy Lane already is a detour for motorists traveling I-80 both ways because both ramps from state Route 711 are closed for replacement.

In the morning, Youngstown police reported several minor accidents on their stretch of Route 711 and Gypsy Lane. By afternoon, the accident calls seemed to clear up, but about 3:30 p.m., an officer patrolling the area said “it’s a disaster up here.”

Brent Kovacs, a spokesman for the Ohio Department of Transportation, said the road was closed in the eastbound lanes after the fire was put out and the accident cleaned up because the stretch that was damaged had to be repaved because of fire damage.

Birch said the only good thing was that the fire hit at the same time the department changes shifts, so there were plenty of personnel on hand.