Damaged Truck Leaks 50 Gallons of Fuel Along Thruway in South Nyack

An estimated 50 gallons of fuel spilled from a ruptured tank of a tractor trailer on the New York State Thruway in South Nyack early this morning.
Nyack Fire Chief James Weck said the damaged truck was able to pull off the Thruway at the maintenance and construction area on the northbound side of the highway when the driver realized there was a problem at about 2:30 a.m. Although containment of the fuel spill took more than two hours, Weck said the incident did not affect traffic on the Thruway.
The passenger side fuel tank on the truck from Pennsylvania appeared to have been damaged as the truck was on the road, Weck said, noting that the hole in the tank was too big for a temporary plug to stop the fuel from escaping.
Because of the size of the spill, Weck said the Rockland County hazardous materials team was called in to assist with the containment. Although the fuel spread out over a parking area, Weck said there were no storm drains in the area for the fuel to become a further environmental risk.
The owners of the trucking company involved made arrangements for an environmental clean up contractor to remove the spilled fuel.
No one was injured and 10 volunteers of the Nyack Fire Department assisted in the containment operation, which was completed at about 5 a.m.