Haz-mat at truck accident on Highway 141

By Staff
Monday, October 24, 2011

A semi-tanker wrecked this morning on Colorado Highway 141 near Gateway, spilling crude oil and threatening nearby West Creek.

The Grand Junction Fire Department’s hazardous materials team was dispatched to the accident at mile post 128, roughly 10 miles north of Gateway, around 11:15 a.m. Lloyd Dean, president of Basin Western, Inc., which owns the vehicle involved, said the semi was hauling approximately 7,000 gallons of crude oil.

A Daily Sentinel reporter at the scene said oil appeared have dumped near the banks of West Creek, while crews have deployed booms in the water in an effort to contain it. It wasn’t clear how much was spilled.

The waterway feeds into the Dolores River.

According to dispatched reports, the driver was taken by ambulance to a local hospital with minor injuries. As of 2:40 p.m., Highway 141 was closed in both directions as crews off-loaded oil which remained inside the wrecked tanker.

Check back for updates through the day and read the full story in Tuesday’s Daily Sentinel.