CLAYTON — A tanker truck carrying diesel fuel crashed into a car this morning on Highway 75, resulting in the death of the car’s driver.
The crash happened around 8:45 a.m. Tuesday between Sunbeam and Challis near the East Fort Salmon River Bridge Complex about 25 miles southwest of Challis, according to a news release.
The Idaho Transportation Department says the tanker overturned, spilling all of its 10,000 gallons of diesel fuel, which then caught fire. The fire burned nearly five hours, generating a cloud of black smoke and intense heat.
Volunteers from the North Custer County Fire District kept the fire in check until it consumed large pools of fuel. The fire is now smoldering.
The burning fuel reached and torched a culvert under the highway, according to ITD, but crews diked the path of the fire, keeping it from spreading beyond the highway right of way. No fuel reached the river. A power line was also burned, according to an Idaho Transportation Department news release.
Fire District Chief Launna Gunderson said the crash and fire damaged the roadway.
Emergency crews remain at the crash, and environmental officials are en route to the site, as are a cleanup contractor and wrecker.
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