Tanker Crash Closes US 80

A tanker crash on US Highway 80 in Kaufman County closed portions of the roadway late Sunday evening.

About 7:15 p.m. Sunday, Forney firefighters responded to westbound US 80 just west of Farm-to-Market Road 460.

They arrived to an 18-wheeler tanker that had rolled over. The driver was located and had suffered injures described as serious but not life-threatening. Paramedics transported him to Baylor Medical Center in Dallas.

Police and the Texas Department of Public Safety closed all westbound lanes as well as the westbound Frontage Road, which lead to a number of delays for drivers.

Firefighters said the rig was loaded with 7,500 gallons of liquid including a mixture of diesel, bio-diesel and ethanol. A private hazmat company was called in to mitigate the spill and pump off the remaining product.

Just after midnight the frontage road was opened but the westbound lanes of the freeway remained closed.

The crash is under investigation, but initial reports indicated the driver lost control in a curve, ran off the road and partially up an embankment before the rig rolled over.

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