Firefighters Contain Diesel Fuel Spill on Princess Road

Firefighters spent several hours today working to contain diesel fuel that spilled from a ruptured tank on a tractor-trailer and ran into a nearby storm drain on Princess Road in Lawrence Township.

It was shortly before 10 a.m. today (Thursday, July 12) when a tractor-trailer struck a fence post while leaving the Hub City Distributing Co. property at 6 Princess Rd., emergency officials said.

That collision, officials said, twisted the metal side step on the passenger’s side of the tractor, causing part of the step to impact the adjacent passenger’s side saddle fuel tank and slice a hole in the tank.

Leaking from the gash in the tank, diesel fuel ran down the Hub City driveway and entered a storm drain on Princess Road at the edge of the property.

Lawrence Township’s daytime duty crew of career firefighters, volunteers from the Lawrenceville and Slackwood fire companies and members of the Trenton Fire Department’s hazardous materials task force responded.

Using absorbent material, pads and booms, they worked to contain the spilled fuel. Township police, meanwhile, closed Princess Road in both directions while firefighters worked.

Of the 65 gallons believed to have been in the tank at the time of the accident, officials estimated that about 10 gallons of diesel fuel entered the storm drain, while another 25 gallons ended up on the ground. The remaining fuel remained in the tank after a temporary patch was affixed to the hole in the tank.

By accessing another drain across the street, firefighters were able to prevent the diesel fuel from spreading farther into the underground storm water drainage system, officials said.

Firefighters used special gas meters to check the air quality in the storm drains and in nearby buildings to ensure that no problems were created by fumes from the diesel fuel, officials said.    

The New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection was advised of the spill. Assisting at the scene, meanwhile, were personnel from Lawrence Township Public Works Department and the Ewing Lawrence Sewerage Authority.

Firefighters remained on the scene for more than three hours. Ultimately, a private contractor specializing in hazardous materials response was hired by the tractor-trailer owner’s insurance company to clean up the spill.

Police identified the owner of the tractor-trailer as Meade Trucking of Verona, Va., and the driver as Matthew Hamilton, 39, of Staunton, Va.

Hamilton - who, officials said, claimed the crash was caused by a deer that ran out in front of the tractor-trailer - was not issued any tickets for the accident, but was cited for a minor equipment violation, according to police.