Truck Overturns Near Del Mar; I-5 Shut for 13 Hours
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DEL MAR — An early-morning crash on Interstate 5 near Del Mar overturned a tanker truck loaded with 9,000 gallons of gasoline, forcing officials to close the highway’s northbound lanes for about 13 hours Tuesday.
Fire officials finished removing the gasoline from the tanker’s compartments about 3 p.m. and California Highway Patrol officials reopened the lanes at 6 p.m. Southbound lanes were not affected.
The northbound lanes were closed to prevent sparks from igniting vapors during the unloading of the gas, said Battalion Chief George Stepanof of the San Diego Fire Department.
The driver of the tanker and the drivers of two other cars involved in the 5 a.m. accident escaped with minor injuries, said CHP Officer Tim Little.
The collision ripped the front wheels off the Calzona Tankways Inc. tanker, which smashed through a guardrail and plunged over a 20-foot embankment. It landed upside-down on a freeway utility road about 75 feet from the shoulder.
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