New Details About Fuel Tanker That Overturned During Snowstorm

EASTPORT, NY — A fuel truck that overturned on Sunrise Highway Sunday during a snowstorm was actively leaking from two spots, officials said.

The Eastport Fire Department and Brookhaven town fire marshals were among those who responded to the overturned truck on Sunrise Highway between Eastport-Manor Road and Moriches-Riverhead Road, just east of Exit 62.

According to Suffolk County Police, the tanker truck carrying the home heating oil was heading east at 12:30 p.m. when the driver lost control of the vehicle and it overturned onto its side off the right shoulder.

About eight to 10 gallons of oil spilled from the truck, police said; the remainder was offloaded to another truck and the overturned vehicle was towed from the scene, police said.

The male driver was transported to Peconic Bay Medical Center in Riverhead by East Moriches Community Ambulance for treatment of minor injuries, police said.

Eastport Chief of Department John Rankin found that the fuel oil delivery truck had overturned and come to rest in the median between eastbound Sunrise Highway and the service road, Brookhaven officials said.

Rankin determined the tank was actively leaking from two locations. While firefighters from the Eastport Fire Department took steps to control the leaks utilizing equipment on hand, Rankin requested the Brookhaven fire marshals' hazardous material response team, town officials said.

Town fire marshals determined that the 3,800 gallons of home heating oil that still remained in the tank would need to be offloaded prior to the truck being up-righted and removed; fire marshals then utilized specialized tools and techniques to drill openings into the side of the tank, facing upward as a result of the crash, officials said.

Specialized pumps were inserted into the tank, allowing the fuel oil to be safely transferred from the damaged tank to a nearby waiting tanker truck, officials said.

Chief Fire Marshal Christopher Mehrman said the operation took about four hours to complete because of severe weather conditions. "The incident occurred in the middle of the snowstorm and freezing conditions made working on top of the tank extremely slippery," he said. "We were able to limit the amount of fuel oil leaking from the tank, offload the remaining oil and address the leaks that had been greatly slowed by the initial actions of the Eastport Fire Department.”

The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation ensured the contaminated soil was cleaned up by an environmental firm hired by the fuel oil delivery company.

Suffolk County Police highway patrol officers, emergency service section officers and officials from Brookhaven, the New York State DEC spill response team, New York State emergency management, and local fire departments responded, police said.

The exit ramp at Exit 62 was closed but the express portion of the road remained open throughout the incident, police said.