Hazmat crews clean up after head-on crash involving Stanley Steemer van near Del Paso Heights
Hazardous materials crews cleaned up potentially toxic fluids after a head-on collision between a carpet cleaning van and a pickup truck north of Del Paso Heights on Friday.
The crash involved a yellow Stanley Steemer van and a large pickup truck, which collided on Marysville Boulevard near Wind Creek Drive about noon Friday. Both directions of Marysville Boulevard remained closed at the intersection as of early Friday afternoon, according to fire officials.
The Sacramento Fire Department tweeted photos showing the collision, reporting that there were “miraculously” no injuries. Photos also showed some of the hazmat response.
Fire Department spokesman Capt. Keith Wade said fluids spilling from one or both vehicles necessitated a Level II hazmat response. That classification means the fluids are toxic and can create a hazard if they enter storm drains.
Wade said that, by law, fire departments must call an outside company to clean up a Level II spill.
The fluids seen in photos appear to be automotive oil, and Wade said it was not known whether any cleaning chemicals were involved, but that the hazmat response would be the same whether or not carpet shampoo was among the fluids spilled.
As seen in another photo, hazmat crews use dirt for “diking and damming” of street gutters, according to Wade. This keeps toxic fluids out of the storm drains, he said.
This story was originally published May 3, 2019 at 1:11 PM.
