One oily mess, 2 accidents in Delco
A trash truck leaked oil over more than 2 miles of wet roadway in Delaware County, resulting in two accidents and a major traffic mess Wednesday morning, officials said.
A trash truck leaked oil over more than 2 miles of wet roadway in Delaware County, resulting in two accidents and a major traffic mess Wednesday morning, officials said.
Sarah Jane White, 78, of Media, suffered minor injuries after she drove through the oil on Glen Riddle Road in Middletown Township and lost control of her car, which then hit a tree near the intersection with Wrights Lane around 10 a.m. She was taken to Riddle Hospital.
A state trooper heading to the accident scene was involved in a minor accident less than a mile away at the intersection of Glen Riddle Road and Route 452.
The oil spill, caused by a mechanical malfunction of a Laxton Enterprises Trash Removal truck, spanned from Baltimore Pike to Route 452, state police said.
Police shut down Glenn Riddle Road from Routes 352 to 452.
The Pennsylvania Department of Transportation covered the spill with sand. The truck company is responsible for removing the oil, said PennDOT spokesman Eugene Blaum.
"The rain was not helping the situation either because it was spreading the oil," Blaum said.
The truck started to leak oil at Baltimore Pike and Elwyn Road, Blaum said. The driver stopped at a parking lot about 2 1/2 miles from where the leak started.
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