Highway 502 to Dryden will be partially closed to traffic for the next two days after a fatal tanker-truck crash yesterday afternoon at the ‘S’ curve at Crowrock.
Police said the southbound vehicle was travelling on the bridge around 2:15 p.m. when it failed to complete a sharp turn and went off the road and down a steep embankment.
Emergency services responded to find the driver, who was identified as Percy England, 49, of Moose Jaw, Sask., dead at the scene.
He was the lone occupant of the Tri-Mac tractor-trailer unit, police noted.
The tanker was carrying tall oil–a non-toxic, non-flammable substance–but apparently none of it spilled out.
A second environmental assessment will be done after the vehicle is removed.
Meanwhile, the accident has reduced traffic to one lane for the next two days, with the highway being closed to traffic altogether for one-two hour periods during that time.
“I’d advise anyone who has to travel to try and find a different way to go,” said Cst. Rod Brown, dangerous goods officer with the Thunder Bay OPP.
Removing the vehicle will take this long due to the steepness of the embankment, noted Cst. Brown, adding the tall oil first has to pumped into another tanker truck.
Then the truck will have to be towed up the embankment and hauled away on a float truck.
The cause of the accident remains under investigation.
Fort Frances Times
Local News from Across the Rainy River District
