Interstate 45 was shut down for approximately five hours on Friday evening, December 6th, due to an overturned tanker and jet fuel spill at the 187 northbound mile marker.
The call came in at 4:40 p.m. that afternoon reporting that the overturned tanker, carrying 7,400 gallons of jet fuel, had leaked about 500 gallons onto the interstate.
Due to the amount and type of fuel involved, safety crews made the decision to close the interstate in both directions between the 180 mile-marker at Buffalo to the 189 mile-marker at Dew.
Teague, Dew, Fairfield, and Buffalo Volunteer Fire Departments responded to the incident, along with EMS and area law enforcement.
Crews contained the spill as best as they could until a Hazmat team from Waco arrived on scene.
According to Teague VFD, this accident caused a significant traffic backup, but the decision to shut down the interstate was for the safety of the public.
