An accident that occurred late last month involving a tractor-trailer led to a fuel spill and two additional accidents, and consequently accompanied road closures in Frederick, causing some major traffic delays.
According to Maryland State Police, the crash occurred on the ramp from westbound I-70 to westbound Route 15/340 at around 2:30 a.m., when the driver of the tractor-trailer lost control of the vehicle.
The tractor-trailer then careened off of the roadway, striking and displacing a 100 foot stretch of guardrail, before finally coming to a stop after colliding with a concrete bridge abutment above Route 351. The collision with the structure caused debris to fall into the roadway, resulting in two additional collisions on Route 351 itself.
A police spokesperson said that the impact of the crash damaged the tractor-trailer’s fuel saddle tanks, causing gallons of diesel fuel to spill onto the ramp and also onto Route 351.
No information was readily available regarding injuries to the drivers of the tractor-trailer or any of the other vehicles involved in the collisions on Route 351. The cause of the driver losing control, and other circumstances surrounding the crash, remain under investigation.