A tanker truck crashed, rolled over and came to a stop right by a home in Oakland Park on Tuesday, leaving a massive mess and an injured driver.
The truck spilled some of the 1,100 gallons of diesel fuel that it was carrying along with some of its own 200 gallons when the driver lost control in the area of Andrews Avenue between Commercial Boulevard and 53rd Court.
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The Oakland Park Fire Department said the driver of the truck was taken to the hospital for minor injuries.
Aerial images showed the truck laying on its side between two homes, with white foam spread all around it. Emergency vehicles, including fire trucks, blocked intersections.
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The two closest homes to the crash were evacuated, and others who live nearby were told to stay inside.
Neighbor Rafael Serrano said he felt on edge.
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“If something happening with the gas or something, we got to get out of here. We don’t want to wait for something else," he said.
Hazmat crews spent the morning pumping all the fuel from the tipped over truck to put onto another truck.
Fire officials described the slow process of prepping the truck before it was safe to tow, including drilling holes to drain the fuel while spraying a fire retardant foam so they don’t cause sparks that could ignite the whole thing.
“Any time you have a tanker truck on its side, they’re not supposed to be laying down. They’re not built for that. But luckily, it didn’t rupture," Oakland Park Assistant Fire Chief Marc Vermont said. "If it ruptured that’s a whole different story, but it’s still very dangerous still very volatile.”
Once the tank was empty, crews put dry ice inside to create carbon dioxide, to eliminate residual vapors.
Drivers are advised to take Northwest 9th Avenue as an alternate route to avoid delays, as closures were still in effect at noon.
Serrano said he sees a lot of accidents with people speeding and bushes blocking visibility.
“When I get out from this way rid many accidents because the test fix is kind of high speed and many bushes in between the road,” he said. "They got to do something about this intersection.”
