City of Wichita public safety officials and partnering agencies responded to a semi-trailer truck accident on K-96 at Hydraulic early Tuesday morning after a butane tank rolled down an embankment onto Hydraulic and slowed interchange traffic.
The accident involved no other vehicle and resulted in no injuries, Fire Marshal Ed Bricknell said. He said the butane tank leaked but did not catch fire after the driver of the westbound truck fell asleep and hit a concrete barrier at approximately 4:40 a.m.
Commuters in the K-96 and I-135 area will be affected by clean-up efforts. Westbound K-96 traffic is closed at Hillside, southbound I-135 traffic cannot exit at K-96 East, northbound I-135 traffic cannot exit at Hydraulic, Hydraulic at 37th Street North is closed and North 29th Street is closed at Ohio. Bricknell said officials are planning to drain the tank or use a flare procedure, which involves connecting a pipe to the tank and setting vapors on fire at the end of the pipe until the butane runs out. Officials estimate the flare procedure could last 12 to 48 hours.
The tanker remains on Hydraulic, where a 300-foot safety perimeter has been established. Several businesses west of Hydraulic have been closed. The Coleman Company – east of Hydraulic – remains open, while officials from WFD, Sedgwick County Fire, Kansas Highway Patrol, Kansas Department of Transportation and Environmental Services work at the scene.
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