Crash shuts down roundabout
Driver of transport truck refuses medical treatment at Welland crash scene
Niagara OPP are investigating the cause of a crash that led to a loaded tanker truck rolling on its side in the Welland roundabout Wednesday afternoon.
Police, Welland Fire and Emergency Services and Niagara Emergency Medical Services responded to East Main Street and Highway 406 in the eastbound lanes of the roundabout at 1:45 p.m.
OPP Sgt. Vince Idzenga said there were no other vehicles involved, and the driver of the transport was not injured.
Welland fire department’s acting platoon chief, Phil Dyson, said the driver was out of his vehicle when firefighters arrived and refused medical attention.
Idzenga said the transport truck was hauling a load of liquid cobalt.
“There’s only property damage … nothing spilled,” he said.
Dyson said there was nothing leaking, but firefighters took action to protect the environment.
Firefighters requested a sander truck from the Miller Group to put sand on the road where the vehicle would be righted and down toward the East Main Street tunnel under the Welland Canal.
“We diked the catch basins on the road and down near the
tunnel,” said Dyson, adding there were pumps in the tunnel that could be remotely shut off as well in case of any spills.
Ministry of Transportation inspectors were looking over the truck. Three trucks and seven firefighters were on scene as were Niagara Regional Police
before the OPP took over.
Whether charges would be laid depended on the outcome of the investigation, Idzenga said.