RUSSELL TOWNSHIP, Ohio — A tanker truck that crashed in Russell Township Tuesday morning was carrying wastewater from the East Palestine train derailment site, officials confirmed.
At about 5:17 a.m., Russell Fire crews were dispatched to the crashed tanker truck at Chagrin Mills Road and Chillicothe Road, according to a news release from the department. The truck was found on its side and off the roadway. Multiple utility lines and a utility pole were downed due to the crash.
The driver was treated and taken to a nearby hospital by paramedics.
The Chagrin Southeast Regional Hazmat team responded, as some diesel fuel and about four to five gallons of Class 9 hazardous material were spilled due to the crash.
A Norfolk Southern official confirmed that a contractor was transporting wastewater from the East Palestine train derailment site in the truck. The water leaked from a drip at the lid of the overturned truck.
Norfolk Southern crews dug out the dirt where the water would have dropped, and the remaining water in the tanker was transferred for further transport, the official said.
The intersection was closed for several hours Tuesday for cleanup and to repair the electrical lines that were downed in the crash.
