Human Waste Tanker Crash Shuts Down Stretch Of U.S. 1
POSTED: Tuesday, February 1, 2005
UPDATED: 5:45 pm EST February 1,2005
MIAMI -- U.S. 1 was shut down all day Tuesday following a violent crash between a tanker carrying 6,000 gallons of human waste and a car on the 18-mile stretch leading into the Florida Keys.
The roadway was shut down through the evening rush hour. The tanker and car hit head-on, sending both vehicles into the shallow water along the road at mile marker 113. The tanker was resting on a 36-inch pipe that carries fresh water to Keys residents. The pipe was not ruptured, but workers were on the scene in case anything went wrong.
A passenger in the car was trapped underwater briefly. That person was airlifted to the hospital but is expected to recover.
The tanker driver was taken to the hospital by an ambulance. He later returned to the scene, dressed in a hospital gown and puffing on a cigarette, to answer investigators' questions.
Drivers were advised to use Card Sound Road as an alternate. Tolls were lifted on the roadway, but there were also reports on that road of slow traffic due to a crash on the Miami-Dade County side of the road.
Other traffic headaches were also expected in the Keys Tuesday, thanks to a commercial being filmed on the Seven Mile Bridge just south of Marathon. It was expected the shoot would cause periodic traffic stops.
Copyright 2005 by Local10.com.
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