San Diego’s busy Morena Boulevard was shut down in both directions near I-8 Friday night after a tanker truck overturned, spilling diesel onto the roadway. HAZMAT crews were called to begin the extensive clean-up efforts. NBC 7’s Candice Nguyen reports.
Some lanes of San Diego's busy Morena Boulevard will remain closed through Saturday evening as HAZMAT crews work to clean up a spill after a tanker truck carrying fuel overturned.
The San Diego Police Department (SDPD) said the accident happened Friday around 6 p.m. on Morena Boulevard, just north of Interstate 8. The driver, for unknown reasons, lost control of the tanker and crashed.
As an unknown amount of diesel spilled from the overturned tanker, HAZMAT crews were called to the scene to clean up the fuel, which spilled onto the road and into the nearby San Diego River below.
More than four hours after the crash, officials said Morena Boulevard would remain shut down to traffic in both directions and would impact motorists throughout Saturday.
By 7 a.m. Saturday, officials said southbound Morena Boulevard had reopened to traffic, but the westbound I-8 off-ramp to Morena Boulevard would likely remain closed through at least 6:30 p.m. due to the fuel spill. Northbound Morena Boulevard remained closed.
The tanker truck belongs to the fuel company, SoCo Group. Angus McDonald, president of the company, told NBC 7 the driver suffered minor injuries but no one else was hurt in the accident.
He said the company will investigate what caused the crash.
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“We will have to look to see what caused the accident. SoCo has been here for 100 years and we’re not going anywhere. We’ll figure out what’s going to need to be done,” McDonald told NBC 7.
At this point, it is not clear just how much fuel spilled from the tanker, but the truck can hold up to 4,500 gallons of fuel.
Check back for updates on road closures.
