One person has life-threatening injuries after a two-vehicle crash that spilled a substantial amount of diesel in east London
Emergency crews were called to the collision on Dundas Street near Creamery Road around 6:20 a.m. on Tuesday. One person had to be cut from the wreckage by firefighters. That individual has been taken to hospital with serious, life-threatening injuries.
A hazmat team was brought in to control and clear the large diesel spill.
"It was quickly determined that one of the saddle bags [on one the vehicles] had ruptured leading to approximately 300 litres of diesel fuel to escape. Immediately, our hazmat crews on scene were working to contain that spill," said London Fire Department Platoon Chief Gary Mosburger. "The City of London's city works department were also called to come out and boom the ditch area to ensure no diesel fuel would get into any of the waterways."
The provincial Ministry of Environment has been notified of the spill, Mosburger added.
The London police traffic management unit is investigating the cause of the collision.
Dundas Street between Nissouri Road and Crumlin Sideroad was totally closed for several hours. The westbound lanes were reopened around 2 p.m., while the eastbound lanes reopended around 2:45 p.m.
Anyone with information about the crash is asked to call police at 519-661-5670 or Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-TIPS (8477).
This is the second time in less than a week a crash has caused a diesel fuel spill in London. Last Friday, a city garbage truck and a vehicle collided on Wonderland Road just north of Springbank Drive, rupturing the truck's fuel tank. That sent diesel onto the road and into a nearby storm sewer outlet to the Thames River. Absorbent booms and vacuum truck services were used to clear the diesel.