Published Monday, March 3, 2003
By Herald Staff
A tractor trailer hauling a dangerous chemical crashed and burned Sunday on Interstate 80, forcing the evacuation of dozens of homes near the Shenango Township crash site.
Both lanes of the interstate were shut down between Hermitage and Hubbard and residents of about 35 homes on Habarka, Wheatland-West Middlesex, Elliot and Sieg Hill roads and East Paul Street in Shenango Township were told to leave until smoke from the burning truck cleared.
Motorists were diverted from state Route 718, also known as Sieg Hill Road, until the smoke subsided.
William Shultz, who lives at Route 718 and Wheatland Road, said at about 5:45 p.m. he heard "What sounded like a big snowplow going by."
"I heard the scraping of metal on the road, which lasted about 15 seconds," he said. He didn't give it another thought, until he felt his house shake.
The eastbound tractor trailer wrecked on the overpass spanning Route 718, about 75 feet from Shultz's house. He said one of the truck's dual trailers was standing straight up on its end, while the other trailer was lying on its side, engulfed in smoke. About 20 minutes later it burst into flames, he said.
Emergency officials feared the smoke carried traces of the chemical tert-butyl hyporchlorite, which the truck was hauling. The chemical can cause skin irritation. Hazardous materials protocols call for evacuating the area around such a spill.
The Habarka family, who live on Elliot Road, were traveling home from their daughter Marissa's cheerleading competition at Kent State University and found traffic backed up on I-80 for miles. When they finally got back into West Middlesex they were told they could not turn on Route 718 to head for their home.
"We came home, and they told us we couldn't go in," said Becky Harbarka. Mrs. Habarka said she was concerned about their dog and cat, who were in the house. The family planned to go to Mrs. Harbarka's mother's house until the evacuation was lifted.
Flames from the burning truck lit up the sky hours after the crash as firefighters, who could do little to put out the fire because contact with water can make the chemical explode, let the wreckage burn.
Emergency workers monitored the fire from a command post set up at the interstate Welcome Center near the wreck. Early on, police scanner chatter indicated widespread confusion as police and firefighters tried to seal off the area and divert traffic around the closed interstate.
By 9:30 p.m. the evacuation order was lifted and those rousted from their homes by the emergency were returning. By 10 p.m. the westbound lanes of I-80 were open.
While sites for evacuees were set up at the Presbyterian Church of West Middlesex and the Shenango Township building, most -- like the Habarkas -- apparently sought shelter with family.
The wreck coincided with arrival of snow flurries and rapidly sinking temperatures. PennDOT trucks that were clearing I-80 were stuck for a time on the Interstate and Shenango Valley police departments found themselves stretched thin between the burning truck and numerous minor crashes on icy local roads.
Information from official sources was hard to come by Sunday night. It was not known if the tractor trailer's driver or anyone else was hurt in the crash.