SAN RAFAEL — A lengthy cleanup operation is underway in Marin County after a large tanker truck overturned on a windy road this week, spilling gasoline into a nearby creek.
The big-rig overturned just on Sunday morning on a windy section of Lucas Valley Road outside of San Rafael.
The tanker was on its way from the Chevron Richmond Refinery when it flipped over while trying to navigate a hairpin turn, and tumbled down a steep embankment.
Officials with the California Highway Patrol and other state agencies are investigating why the driver ignored regulations prohibiting the truck from going down that stretch of road.
“Even if it was something he had not researched ahead of time, there are large black and white signs on Lucas Valley Road that say ‘no trucks over 36 feet’” says CHP-Marin spokesperson Andrew Barclay. The tanker is 50 feet long.
The tanker was carrying 7,000 gallons of fuel when it flipped over, 2,100 of which leaked out.
Both the driver and the trucking company are under investigation and could face thousands of dollars in fines. It could cost them possibly millions more to clean up the mess in the creek, which is a federally protected watershed.
The outcome could have been even worse, said Barclay.
“One spark or any ignition source could have drastically changed this,” said Barclay. “Now, not just thinking of the immediate damage to the dozens of first responders on scene, but this is a completely rural area. Any fire that started there with those conditions would have spread extremely quickly.”
The driver escaped the accident with a cut to the head.
Written by Jessica Yi.
