Tanker Truck Overturns at Friendship Circle. Route 2 Closed in Both Directions

Anne Arundel Fire Department spokesman Chief Michael Cox said that a tanker truck accident that occurred around 10:30 a.m. on Friday has closed Route 2/Solomons Island Road in both directions from the Calvert County line to Fairhaven Road. There are no injuries to report.

The overturned tanker, courtesy of AA Fire Department.

The road will remain closed until the incident is cleared.

Cox said that a call came in for a motor vehicle collision on Friday at the traffic circle on Solomons Island Road at Friendship Road in South County.  Once at the scene, crews found a 10,000-gallon LPG tanker truck overturned. The driver was the only occupant. He was uninjured and had gotten himself out of the cab.

Hazmat crews were called. They found that the truck was not leaking, but was about 90 percent full. The Maryland Department of Environment dispatched their hazardous materials crew who also concluded that the truck had little damage and was not leaking.

A plan is now in place for a couple of large wreckers to come and lift the tanker. It will be monitored again for leaks and if all is OK, they will upright the truck with the fuel inside.

However, if there is damage to the side of the truck that can not now be seen, and any leakage or seepage is found, the truck will need to be offloaded before being lifted.

Crews at the scene can not predict the outcome, so it is difficult to discern when the road will reopen.

Cox said that three homes in the area were evacuated as a precaution. North and southbound lanes of Route 2/Solomons Island Road will be closed until the accident is resolved and the tanker truck removed.

“That depends on if there is no leak in the trailer and it can be uprighted, or if there is damage, then they will have to offload and that will take longer,” Cox said.