One lane of eastbound I-70 reopens after crash
One lane of eastbound Interstate 70 has reopened but the other two are expected to remain closed until early afternoon near Mt. Airy hours after a tractor-trailer carrying embalming fluid and other chemicals turned over on the icy highway.
Maryland State Police spokesman Greg Shipley said the1999 International tractor, which was pulling two trailers, ran off the right side of the eastbound roadway just east of Route 27 in Carroll County and jack-knifed. He said that after the crash, a pickup truck ran into one of the trailers.
Shipley said the truck driver, 59-year-old Lanny W. Denver of Dundalk, was transported to Howard County General Hospital with what were believed to be minor injuries.
The spokesman said the driver of the vehicle that hit the trailer, 56-year-old William E. Boyle Sr., of Hagerstown, was not injured. The crash remains under investigation and no cause has been determined.
The truck was carrying 55-gallon drums and other containers, Shipley said. The cargo included embalming fluid, refrigerants and wood preservative -- some of which spilled, the spokesman said. Shipley said Haz-Mat crews and the Maryland Department of the Environment were at the scene. Police said they closed the road because of debris from the crash and icy conditions.
Shipley said the truck had been turned upright but the cargo would have to be taken off the trailers before the road could reopen. Police said there was no danger to nearby residents.
Eastbound motorists were being diverted onto parallel Route 144 via Route 27, Shipley said.
The crash was the second tractor-trailer incident to close I-70 near that point in the last three days. Another truck crash, involving a propane truck, closed the highway for several hours Sunday.
