PROVO CANYON, Utah – Nov. 28, 2015 (Gephardt Daily) ─ Provo Canyon was closed for hours Saturday after a tanker-truck rollover accident spilled an estimated 1,000 gallons of crude oil into the Provo River.
According to Utah Highway Patrol Trooper Evan Kirby, the accident happened just after 10 a.m. near Vivian Park on U.S. 189 when a semi truck hauling two tankers filled with crude oil was driving westbound near mile post 13.
The driver of the tanker told troopers that he was attempting to make a lane change when he hit a patch of slush, lost control of the semi, then slid into a cement barrier causing the truck and trailers to roll over.
The truck came to rest across all eastbound and westbound lanes. The front tank that was holding nearly 4,500 gallons of crude oil ruptured. A spokesperson for the Utah Department of Environmental Quality says it appears about a 1,000 gallons drained into the Provo River, but it did not believe it would be harmful to humans.
The driver was not injured.
