Charges pending after tanker crash causes tar spill on Hwy. 401 just east of Kingston: OPP

A section of Highway 401 between Kingston and Odessa was closed Thursday after a tanker crashed and spilled the tar it was carrying.

OPP say they were called to the highway before 5 a.m. on Thursday after a tanker struck the guard rail and crashed into a ditch.

The truck was carrying liquid tar, which spilled into marshland next to the highway. The truck’s fuel tanks also leaked. The Ministry of Environment says both diesel and tar have impacted Collins Creek, but that “the creek has little flow and the spilled material appears to be restricted to the area of the tanker truck.”

The ministry also noted that it had staff out at the crash site as soon as possible to mitigate the spill.

The trucking company’s insurance provider has employed a clean-up contract and environmental consultant to deal with the spill, according to a ministry spokesperson, including absorbent booms that have been placed in the creek downstream of the crash.

The driver of the tractor-trailer was taken to hospital with minor injuries and charges are pending.

The eastbound lanes of the highway between County Road 6 and Gardiners Road are closed so that the Ministry of Environment can clean the spill up.

The Ministry of Transportation is assisting in the highway closure, and OPP have set up an emergency detour route. OPP say there is currently no estimated time for the lanes to reopen, but they expect them to be closed for most of the day, and that a large crane had to be brought in to help with the clean-up.

As of 3 p.m., the eastbound lanes were still closed.