A tractor-trailer wreck Monday at the Georgia/South Carolina state line caused a fuel spill that shut down part of the interstate for several hours on Monday. Hazmat crews cleaned up approximately 150 gallons of diesel fuel that spilled onto the I-85 northbound bridge and into Lake Hartwell.
Troopers from Georgia State Patrol Post 52 in Hartwell responded to the single-vehicle crash in Hart County just before 7 p.m. on December 18. According to their preliminary report, the Peterbilt tractor-trailer was traveling north in the right lane near mile marker 179. The driver stated that the front passenger’s side steer tire malfunctioned, causing him to lose control.
The Peterbilt traveled off the right shoulder of the road and struck a guardrail. The truck came to an uncontrolled rest against the guardrail, partially in the northbound right lane. The lane remained closed for nearly three hours as multiple Hazmat units cleared the fuel spill.
The wreck did not injure the driver who troopers identified as Christopher Allen Klein, Jr., 40, of Mandeville, Louisiana.
