Highway 225 outside of Houston was blocked in both directions when a tanker truck carrying propane overturned and fell from the southbound ramp coming off of Highway 146. The tanker truck plummeted 25 feet to the ground below; two people were airlifted to the local hospital for treatment of serious injuries.
The road closure lasted a full 24 hours as emergency responders and road crews worked to clean up the potentially dangerous propane spill. A steady flame could be seen from the crash site as cleanup crews opted to burn of the propane.
According to one witness, the tanker truck lost all its wheels in the serious crash. There was no indication if that was the cause of the flip off the ramp, a contributing factor or just the outcome of the impact of the truck contacting the ground below.
The truck was driven by a man working for Safeway Transportation, headquartered in Louisiana.
About 75 percent of the propane used in the United States reaches its final destination via some combination of truck and pipeline transport. Highway transportation trucks used to move propane typically carry about 7,000 to 12,000 gallons of liquid propane. They are constructed of high-strength steel as are their smaller counterparts, the bobtail trucks often used to make smaller deliveries.
The interstate transport of liquid propane is regulated by the Department of Transportation.
Source: KHOU, “Photos: Tanker truck crash in La Porte,” June 19, 2013