Two Upstate NY Accidents Cause Oil and Yogurt Spills! Did I Say Yogurt?
Driving isn't easy. Sure, a straightaway on a dry and sunny day should be pretty easy to handle but on occasion bad weather can mess with even the most skilled drivers. Then there are those times when I wonder how certain people got their New York State Drivers License.
Here are two vehicle accidents that took place close to home recently. Each of them dumping gallons of oil and fluids and some reached waterways. You decide who was at fault.
Let's start in Schoharie County on Monday February 5th. New York State DEC got a report of a tractor-trailer rollover on Route 145 in the town of Broome. Officers responded to find the vehicle on it's side and the contents pouring out of the. What was in there? Yogurt!
Some of the yogurt ended up in Catskill Creek but even worse than the yogurt is the 250 gallons of diesel fuel on the road and rolling into the ditch. Crews placed a barrier in the ditch to help stop the fuel leak and the yogurt was cleaned up. This case remains under investigation.
Now let's head to Dutchess County on Wednesday March 9th as New York State DEC officers respond to a call reporting a car driving off the Taconic State Parkway near the town of New Hamburg.
According to the DEC, this vehicle slid off the snowy roadway and crashed into a tree in the wetlands. Before you blame the weather, officers determined that the was traveling at excessive speeds. That combined with the snow resulted in the accident and subsequent fluid spill.
Local first responders laid out oil pads in an attempt to soak up the fluids gushing out of the car and into the water near Wappingers Creek. The spilled materials were later cleaned up with no long-term environmental impacts.