Traffic was slowed down for miles in Fayetteville Monday afternoon, after a truck leaks used cooking oil all over the highway.
The incident took place around 2:30 p.m. Several drivers called 9-1-1 reporting the oil spilling out of a truck. Apparently, there was a faulty valve. The Fayetteville Fire Department estimates more than 150 gallons was spilled between the Martin Luther King Jr. exit, to exit 65, where the truck finally came to a stop.
Fortunately, cooking oil is not as dangerous as other types of oil, such as gasoline, so the highway was able to remain open. "It takes quite a bit of heat to get cooking oil to combust," said Mario Campos, of the Fayetteville Fire Department. However, Campos said drivers still had to be cautious, because the highway was expected to remain slick for the rest of the day and into Tuesday. Hazmat crews worked for hours to absorb the oil.
One of the drivers on the road at the time was John Barton. "I saw people weaving, people were trying to get away from him as quickly as possible because it was splashing onto their vehicles," said Barton.
He was about four car lengths back when the spilling took place. He said it was one of the worst odors he's ever smelled. "It was sickening, it was very sickening, I had to cover my face to drive down the road and I had to spray cologne on me to partially cover the odor.
Barton described the oil as chunky, and the smell, like a decomposing animal. "Many people got ill, nauseous feeling, I'm sure many of them had a reaction." He said he's not convinced it was just used cooking oil, and would like more answers.
Untfortunately he driver of the truck took off shortly after closing the valve. He was descibed as a man wearing some type of uniform. He faces charges for leaving the scene. Whenever there is a spill, the driver of the vehicle at fault is expected to speak with authorities and take responsibility for the cleanup.
"I'm disgusted because we don't know what this is, we don't know if it's toxic, we don't know what things are going out into our society right now," said Barton
The truck didn't have a name on it, but according to Barton it had the word, "inedible," printed on the back. Emergency Management continues to investigate.
The incident took place around 2:30 p.m. Several drivers called 9-1-1 reporting the oil spilling out of a truck. Apparently, there was a faulty valve. The Fayetteville Fire Department estimates more than 150 gallons was spilled between the Martin Luther King Jr. exit, to exit 65, where the truck finally came to a stop.
Fortunately, cooking oil is not as dangerous as other types of oil, such as gasoline, so the highway was able to remain open. "It takes quite a bit of heat to get cooking oil to combust," said Mario Campos, of the Fayetteville Fire Department. However, Campos said drivers still had to be cautious, because the highway was expected to remain slick for the rest of the day and into Tuesday. Hazmat crews worked for hours to absorb the oil.
One of the drivers on the road at the time was John Barton. "I saw people weaving, people were trying to get away from him as quickly as possible because it was splashing onto their vehicles," said Barton.
He was about four car lengths back when the spilling took place. He said it was one of the worst odors he's ever smelled. "It was sickening, it was very sickening, I had to cover my face to drive down the road and I had to spray cologne on me to partially cover the odor.
Barton described the oil as chunky, and the smell, like a decomposing animal. "Many people got ill, nauseous feeling, I'm sure many of them had a reaction." He said he's not convinced it was just used cooking oil, and would like more answers.
Untfortunately he driver of the truck took off shortly after closing the valve. He was descibed as a man wearing some type of uniform. He faces charges for leaving the scene. Whenever there is a spill, the driver of the vehicle at fault is expected to speak with authorities and take responsibility for the cleanup.
"I'm disgusted because we don't know what this is, we don't know if it's toxic, we don't know what things are going out into our society right now," said Barton
The truck didn't have a name on it, but according to Barton it had the word, "inedible," printed on the back. Emergency Management continues to investigate.
