A tractor-trailer truck overturned on the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway Monday morning, spilling gallons of fuel onto the highway, according to authorities.
The truck flipped onto its side near Flushing Avenue on the Staten Island-bound side of the highway just before 11 am, but the driver was not seriously injured in the crash, according to a Fire Department spokesperson.
The heavy-duty vehicle was carrying a trailer and spilled some 100 gallons of diesel fuel onto the roadway, but the cargo was not leaking onto the street, according to the authorities.
Fire Department hazmat units went to the scene to contain the spill and clean it up.
The authorities cordoned off all Staten Island-bound lanes around 11:35 am, causing extensive delays, according to the Police Department.
TRAFFIC ADVISORY: Due to an overturned tractor trailer, all westbound lanes of the Brooklyn Queens Expressway at Flushing Avenue are blocked. Expect extensive delays and consider alternate routes. pic.twitter.com/8A0kJ5ESNC
— NYPD NEWS (@NYPDnews) April 26, 2021
Police initially diverted traffic off the BQE at Kent Avenue, then reopened some of the westbound lanes after the authorities were able to lift the truck upright again around 2:30 pm, according to a Department spokesman.
An eyewitness saw truck operator lose control of the giant vehicle after another driver cut him off.
“The semi truck driver was cut off, he started swaying back and forth” Richard Paris told Brooklyn Paper.
The Police spokesman could not confirm the incidents that led up to the flip.
Another onlooker said she was worried the truck would explode.
“I never thought I’d see anything like this, I thought it was going to explode,” Kim Edwards said.
Additional repotting by Lloyd Mitchell.
