STAR CITY, W.Va. — Emergency officials opened all four lanes of Interstate 79 around 9 p.m. Friday night.
A tanker hauling 4,500 gallons of diesel fuel rolled over and burst into flames at just before 2 p.m. just north of Morgantown.
Three hours after the wreck had traffic at a standstill, the fire was finally out. Police then began to reconstruct the accident scene. Emergency officials opened one southbound and one northbound lane at that time.
One person was taken by helicopter to a Pittsburgh hospital. Investigators didn’t immediately release the name of the victim.
Morgantown Utility Board scientists and engineers were monitoring waterways after being notified the wreck may have caused a chemical spill into Scott’s Run.
MUB released the following statement Friday evening:
“This stream empties into the Monongahela River at a point roughly 200 yards north of the Star City Bridge. This point is approximately six miles downstream of the water intake at the Morgantown Water Treatment Plant on Don Knotts Boulevard. Morgantown Lock and Dam is also between the spill site and the Water Treatment Plant intake. This spill is NOT a threat to our local raw water supply or drinking water.”
Police had a difficult time getting close to the fire initially because of the hazardous situation.