I-20 closed Saturday due to hazardous material incident

Lexington, SC (Paul Kirby) – A tractor trailer truck leaked a concentration of bleach on I-20 near the 57 mile marker Saturday afternoon after being involved in an accident. The Lexington County Fire Service, along with crews from EMS, were on the scene quickly with firefighters, medics, and the hazmat team dealing with the leak. They were coordinating with law enforcement and completely closed I-20 between South Lake Drive and Sunset Boulevard for some time.

The truck wrecked at that location around 2:30 p.m. and its tanker trailer was laying on its side. Before the first fire service resource arrived, they were advised that the hazardous materials were escaping from the truck. The incident commander notified representatives from DHEC who responded to the scene. There was also a cleanup contractor there around 3:15 p.m. Saturday cleaning up the leaked material.

The SC Highway Patrol was being assisted by the sheriff’s department and the Lexington Police Department and they were coordinating to detour traffic around the accident. The truck driver was transported to the hospital to be checked out for an unknown injury.

Lexington County had their EMS mass casualty bus on the scene and a specially equipped rehab truck to ensure all the firefighters were safe and in good health. The interstate was not reopened until the leak was stopped and the spill had been cleaned up.

Lexington County said via Facebook Saturday that there was no danger to the general public Saturday dring the time this was being dealt with. Units from the fire service left the scene in the hands of law enforcement and the cleanup contractor just after 4:00 p.m.