TEXAS CITY, Texas — It took emergency crews more than five hours and the coordination of six city, state and federal agencies, two utility companies and an environmental clean up crew to pull an 18-wheeler from a bayou Wednesday.
The used-grease hauling tanker crashed through a guardrail and splashed into Bayou Pierre on Texas City’s west side at about 8:30 a.m.
It wasn’t pulled from the muck and water until about 2:15 p.m. The crash backed up traffic on the expressway and knocked out phone and electric service for businesses in the immediate area.
Police said the tanker was headed west on Emmett F. Lowry Expressway when the driver lost control of the rig as he transitioned from the main road to an expressway detour to the feeder road.
Traffic on the expressway is being diverted to the feeder for the next year as state road crews construct an overpass for Willow Street.
Somehow, the driver lost control of his truck, and it crashed through a guard rail in the 4300 block of the expressway, barreled through the front lawn of the Gulf Coast Center’s Connect Transportation and ended up partially submerged in the bayou.
The driver pulled himself from the truck cab and swam to shore just as Gulf Coast Center employees Carolyn Rose and Tom Writer were prepared to dive in. He had minor injuries and was treated at Mainland Medical Center after the crash.
Police said the unidentified driver was cited for failure to control the speed of his truck.
The truck is owned by Liquid Environmental Solutions. The company specializes in hauling grease from restaurants, large kitchens, industrial sites and auto shops.
The truck’s cargo tank was empty, but officials worried the truck’s fuel tanks would spill diesel into the bayou while it was pulled from the water. The U.S. Coast Guard took command of the scene and ordered the truck had to stay put until oil booms were put in the water to catch any leaks or spillage.
There was a small oil slick that came from the residual diesel and oil from the truck’s engine.
It took several hours for Houston-based Milstead Environmental to get the proper equipment and crews to the wreck scene. Once the booms were in place, Tony and Brothers Wrecker used two heavy load trucks to pull the tanker and the truck cab from the muck.
Once under way, it took less than an hour for Tony Socias Jr.’s crew to get the truck back to dry land.
Liquid Environmental Solutions will be responsible for paying for the cleanup, city officials said.
The Texas Commission on Environmental Quality, the Texas General Land Office Oil Spill Response Crew, the Texas Department of Transportation, the Texas City Fire and Police departments and the city’s public works department responded to the wreck. Crews from Texas-New Mexico Power and AT&T also came to the scene to restore power and phone service.
The crash was the first since traffic on the expressway was diverted for the bridge construction. James Hollis, the head of Connect Transit, expressed concern two months ago that the area could be dangerous for drivers if motorists didn’t slow down when making the exit from the main lanes to the feeder.
That transition takes place just a few yards from the Gulf Coast Center’s main entrance.
Hollis said he had hoped state road officials had posted flashing lights and additional speed limit signs at the location to prevent a wreck like Wednesday’s.
