Bunnell intersection closed for hours after crash, fuel spill

U.S. 1 north of State Road 100 blocked while road is repaired

BUNNELL, Fla. – An overturned fuel truck that spilled 1,000 gallons of diesel fuel Monday morning at the intersection of U.S. 1 and State Road 100 caused a traffic headache in Bunnell.

Flagler County Fire Rescue Chief Don Petito said the driver lost control at about 8 a.m. and crashed. The driver was transported to the hospital to be checked out, but is expected to be OK.

There were no other vehicles or injuries involved, and no evacuations were required, but fuel that remained in the truck's tank continued to leak until the vehicle was upright again.

VIDEO: Flagler County Fire Department records fuel leak

Officials said the road was damaged and had to be repaired before the north side of the intersection reopened. Temporary asphalt work to allow traffic through was completed about 12:45 p.m. The Florida Department of Transportation will have a crew return later to make permanent repairs.

John Rogers' team of tow-truck drivers had to make sure the situation was safe first. They pumped out the remaining fuel before removing the truck.

"The biggest problem that we had is that we have storm drains on this road way that lead to canals in the area," Petito said. "So we had to take that up and had to start soaking up the water from the canals."

The Florida Department of Environmental Protection and contractors were both at the scene. The fire chief said the trucking company will be billed for the cleanup.

Flagler County does not have its own hazardous materials team, so firefighters from St. Johns County were called to assist.


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