Tanker accident scene on I-5 at Kent now clear

WSDOT Alert Update

DATE /TIME: September 22, 2010, 9:43 a.m.

DESCRIPTION: All lanes of southbound I-5 just north of SR 516 are now open. An earlier over-turned collision involving a tanker and semi-truck has been cleared from the scene.

LOCATION: Southbound I-5 just south of SR 516 in Kent.

START: September 21, 2010, 10:45 p.m.

END: September 21, 2010, 9:42 a.m.

WHAT HAPPENED: At approximately 10:15 p.m. Sept. 21, a crash on I-5 in Kent resulted in a large diesel-oil spill. The accident involved a flat-bed, semi-tractor trailer truck, a class C tow truck towing a semi-tractor, and a double-tank, tanker truck. The trucks were traveling southbound on I-5 when the crash occurred about 1 mile north of the South 272 Street exit.

The tanker truck, which was hauling 10,000 gallons of gasoline and 900 gallons of diesel, overturned onto its side and spilled a large amount of diesel onto the roadway. No gasoline was spilled, and the drivers of the vehicles were not injured.

Hazardous-materials crews from Kent, Auburn, Federal Way, Seatac, Tukwila, Renton and the state Department of Ecology responded to the incident and assisted in the containment and clean up of the spill. I-5 southbound was shut down to one lane with occasional complete shut downs throughout the night during the clean up. Washington State Patrol is investigating the cause of the crash.

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