BEAVER SPRINGS - State Route 235 is expected to reopen sometime Wednesday after a fuel tanker crash caused a fire Monday afternoon, forcing emergency crews to close the road approximately one mile south of state Route 522 in Spring Township, Snyder County.
According to Pennsylvania State Police Selinsgrove, the fuel tanker overturned at 3:27 p.m. Monday after the driver lost braking power and failed to negotiate a right turn. Police said the vehicle overturned and slid approximately 60 feet before striking a utility pole and coming to a stop upside-down in a small stream.
Police said the vehicle, which was carrying 8,500 gallons of gasoline and diesel fuel, began to leak and caught fire. The operator, Timothy Bussard, 34, of Manchester, Md., was able to escape, but was seriously burned and was transported by helicopter to the Lehigh Valley Hospital burn unit. On Tuesday afternoon an official with the hospital said Bussard was in stable condition.
Police said the fire then spread to some of the surrounding brush and continued to burn for approximately two hours before being extinguished by area firefighters. Fire officials estimate that 1 to 1 1/2 acres of land was damaged as a result of the accident.
Fire officials also said the some of the gasoline from the damaged tanker flowed into an area culvert, and the Department of Environmental Protection and Northridge HazMat remained at the scene throughout the night containing the spills.
As a result of the accident, the road, between Spring and West Beaver townships in Snyder County, was closed for throughout today, and is expected to remain closed until Wednesday. The Pennsylvania Department of Transportation reported that travelers were being detoured via U.S. 522 and state Routes 104 and 35.
Assisting police at the scene were fire and rescue companies from Beaver Springs, Beavertown, Middleburg and Point Township.
