Wednesday, July 20, 2022

Guard tanker crashes on US 60 East

It does not appear that anyone was seriously injured when a National Guard tanker truck ran off US 60 East northeast of Mattoon today.

It was the second crash involving a military tanker since the Kentucky National Guard has been in the county supporting Marion's ongoing water crisis.

The wreck happened about 10:30am Wednesday near Rosebud Hill. 

Two crewmen were taken to the hospital as a precautionary measure. Both walked away from the crash. 

The first crash happened on KY 902 in Caldwell County on Sunday, June 26. Two crewmen were slightly injured in that mishap. At that point, water was being taken from the Cumberland River at Dycusburg to Marion. A few days after the first crash, the National Guard and Kentucky Emergency Management announced that it was changing the water collection point to the Tradewater River because the highway between Marion and the Tradewater River at the Union County Line would be safer than the more narrow roads in the southern part of the county.

Neither crash has involved another vehicle. 

These tankers are carrying about 2,500 gallons of water when full.

Eastbound US 60 traffic from Marion to Sullivan is being detoured via KY 365 to reduce traffic at the crash site. It is likely the roadway will have to close to recover the truck.