I-676 EB Reopens After 10-Vehicle Accident; 3 Injured
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) –Pennsylvania State Police say a fuel spill during Monday evening's rush hour commute caused a chain reaction that stopped traffic for hours in Center City.
"I could smell the diesel fuel all the way down there and it's been about I guess a couple of hours that we've been stuck here," Andrea Pendleton said.
State police say the bumper fell off a tractor trailer carrying crane parts and ruptured its fuel tank. Police say it was heading east from Lancaster County into Philadelphia. Gas spilled onto the roadway near the I-76/I-676 interchange mixing with the afternoon rain, creating slick conditions and causing a 10-car pile-up.
"Unfortunately I was a part of that domino effect," Dexter Angler said.
Three people were taken to the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania. There is no word on the conditions of the victims at this time.
Dexter Angler was on his way home from work when he noticed he couldn't stop.
"The roads were slippery. I was coming onto the on-ramp and I wasn't going that fast and I started to stop before the curve and I noticed that my car wasn't stopping," Angler said.
Motorists were stranded for hours. The highway was shutdown while emergency crews cleared cars and washed the fuel off the roads. Police caught up with the tanker on I-95 near Allegheny Avenue.
"This has been crazy. I thought I was so lucky, I got away from the one accident and then I got sandwiched in here but I didn't get hit so I'm pretty lucky. I can't complain," Jen Pacyon said.
I-676 later reopened at about 7:35 p.m. after all eastbound lanes were shut down for about two hours.
For the latest traffic information, click here.
