Trucker killed in crash that also created oil spill

Published 7:45 am Monday, May 18, 2015

Emergency responders work to clear the scene of a one-vehicle 18-wheeler wreck in the westbound lane of Interstate 20 Monday morning which left the truck driver dead. (Justin Sellers/The Vicksburg Post)

Emergency responders work to clear the scene of a one-vehicle 18-wheeler wreck in the westbound lane of Interstate 20 Monday morning which left the truck driver dead. (Justin Sellers/The Vicksburg Post)

A truck driver was killed in a single-vehicle crash Sunday night near the Mississippi Department of Transportation scales along Interstate 20.

Mississippi Safety Patrol officials said the truck was traveling westbound on I-20 near the scales at 11:30 p.m. when the truck reportedly lost control.

Heavy rain began pouring in the area at around 10 p.m. Sunday, but it remains unclear if weather played a factor in the fatal crash, Mississippi Highway Safety Patrol spokesman Eric Henry said.

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In addition to the fatality, the wreck caused a large oil spill in the median where the crash occurred.

The tanker truck was hauling an estimated 4,000 gallons of 5W-20 motor oil, Warren County Emergency Manager John Elfer said.

“There’s a private contractor out there cleaning it up,” Elfer said.

The identity of the trucker was not released Monday morning as troopers were working to notify family members.

Though it’s not certain if weather caused this crash, it seemed to open up a busy night of weather-related calls for emergency workers.

“Since the call came in about the 18-wheeler, we’ve had weather issues,” Warren County Sheriff Martin Pace said.

Emergency responders work to clear the scene of a one-vehicle 18-wheeler wreck in the westbound lane of Interstate 20 Monday morning which left the truck driver dead.  The wreck happened Sunday night at about 11:30 near mile marker 8 and emergency personnel worked until 5 a.m. to get the truck out, which spilled about 4,000 gallons of motor oil. (Justin Sellers/The Vicksburg Post)

Emergency responders work to clear the scene of a one-vehicle 18-wheeler wreck in the westbound lane of Interstate 20 Monday morning which left the truck driver dead. The wreck happened Sunday night at about 11:30 near mile marker 8 and emergency personnel worked until 5 a.m. to get the truck out, which spilled about 4,000 gallons of motor oil. (Justin Sellers/The Vicksburg Post)

Emergency responders work to clear the scene of a one-vehicle 18-wheeler wreck in the westbound lane of Interstate 20 Monday morning which left the truck driver dead.  The wreck happened Sunday night at about 11:30 near mile marker 8 and emergency personnel worked until 5 a.m. to get the truck out, which spilled about 4,000 gallons of motor oil. (Justin Sellers/The Vicksburg Post)

Emergency responders work to clear the scene of a one-vehicle 18-wheeler wreck in the westbound lane of Interstate 20 Monday morning which left the truck driver dead. The wreck happened Sunday night at about 11:30 near mile marker 8 and emergency personnel worked until 5 a.m. to get the truck out, which spilled about 4,000 gallons of motor oil. (Justin Sellers/The Vicksburg Post)

Wrecks with injuries were also reported on eastbound I-20 and U.S. 80 just east of the Vicksburg city limits, Pace said. In addition, two mudslides were reported on U.S. 61 South near LeTourneau Road. Trees were down and blocking traffic at Grange Hall and Dana roads and on Fisher Ferry Road, Pace said. Water was reported over the road at Jeff Davis Road and U.S. 61 South and on U.S. 61 South at Yokena.

“We encourage people to use caution on the roadways,” Elfer said.

No property damage was reported from flooding.

About 15 power outages affecting at least 361 customers were scattered throughout the southern and eastern part of Vicksburg and Warren County, according to Entergy. The earliest was reported at 1:19 a.m., with the rest of the outages following between 5 a.m. and 6:45 a.m.

Vicksburg Water Treatment plant on Haining Road recorded 1.24 inches of rain from the storm.

A chance of thunderstorms will continue throughout the day and into Monday night. Additional rainfall of up to an inch is possible.

More rain is on the way later in the week. The weather service is calling for a 40 percent chance of thunderstorms Tuesday during the day and a 20 percent chance Tuesday night. Wednesday also brings a 40 percent chance of storms, and the chance of rain continues through the weekend.