I-74 shut down due to tanker truck wreck

ST. LEON, Ind. - The Indiana State Police have shut down at least five miles of Interstate 74 both west and eastbound due to a tanker truck with hazardous chemicals overturning at the 159-mile marker.

Police say they may be able to speed up clean up of the wreck and re-opening of the highway by early afternoon.

The wreck happened around 7:30 a.m. Friday, injuring the truck's driver. Twenty-nine-year-old Andrezej Grela of Chicago suffered cuts and bruises to his head after hitting the truck's windshield. Although he was conscious and talking when he was found, he was taken by Air Care helicopter to University Hospital in Cincinnati as a precaution.

State Police indicate that because of the flammable, hazardous chemical leaking from the truck, they have cordoned off an area about 300 meters or 1,000 feet around the overturned truck to keep people away. Areas around St. Peter and St. Peters Road have been shutdown, out of concern that winds could carry fumes into populated areas.

State Police identify the leaking chemical as phthalic amhydride molten, which they say can become toxic fumes that can spread through the air and wind. The truck had a 4,000-gallon tank and investigators suspect only a few gallons actually leaked from the overturned truck.

The chemical was in a molten state at over 300 degrees when it was being transported. When the leaking chemical hit the air, it cooled down and started to solidify. That may help speed up the clean up of the chemical and removal of the truck from the grassy area off the eastbound lanes of the expressway.

For several hours, Police and sheriff deputies kept people away from St. Peter Road, near the wreck, out of concern chemical fumes could become toxic. No nearby homes were evacuated.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency web site lists phthalic amhydride molten as a toxic industrial chemical that is used in dyes and pigments.

The forced detour along Indiana 46 is causing miles of backed-up traffic along I-74, which is expected to continue until the tanker wreckage is cleared.