A Waste Management truck became lodged under the West Light Street bridge by Railroad Street in Urbana on Monday. There were no injuries. In addition to Urbana Fire Division and Urbana Police Division, the Emergency Management Agency, Champaign County Engineer, and Urbana Public Works assisted on scene. There was an immediate, but temporary, area evacuation out of an abundance of caution, since the vehicle had compressed natural gas on board, according to Urbana Fire Division Chief Dean Ortlieb.
Photo courtesy of James Cropper
On Monday at 10:39 a.m., Urbana Police and Fire Divisions were sent to a crash involving a Waste Management semi-truck stuck under the railroad overpass on West Light Street, just east of Railroad Street.
Upon arrival it was found that the semi, which operates on natural gas, was leaking natural gas from the tanks which are located on the top of the truck after they were punctured during the crash into the steel bridge.
No one was injured in the crash and the bridge was deemed safe after being checked by the railroad company and engineers who assisted at the scene. Due to the propane gas leakage, the area surrounding the immediate area was cordoned off by police and fire personnel while the gas dissipated, which took 90 minutes to complete. Once the gas had dissipated and it was safe to remove the stuck truck, a Waste Management tow truck from Fairborn removed the wedged-in truck.
The investigation found that the truck is 13 feet tall and the bridge is marked with signage for 12.6 feet clearance. The truck had been westbound at the time of the crash.
The driver of the 2014 Waste Management truck, Micah Jones, 29, of Dayton, was issued a traffic citation for failure to give full time and attention while driving.
Submitted by Urbana Police Division
