I-10 closed in both directions near Winnie

The driver of a tanker truck was slightly injured when his big rig turned over and spilled some of its load of ethanol on Interstate 10 near Beaumont early Wednesday morning, forcing officials to evacuate nearby homes and shut down the freeway in both directions for hours.

The single-vehicle crash happened about 6:45 a.m. on the eastbound East Freeway near Hamshire and Winnie, said Deputy Rod Carroll, spokesman for the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office. The crash site is about 10 miles southwest of Beaumont and about 70 miles east of Houston.
Carroll said the truck driver was taken to Baptist Hospitals of Southeast Texas in Beaumont where he was treated for minor cuts and then released. No other injuries were reported.
Carroll said investigators are still trying to determine what caused the wreck. But, he added, the driver apparently lost control of the 18-wheeler and it turned over onto its side and ended up in the median between the eastbound and westbound lanes of traffic.

The tanker was hauling about 1,500 gallons of ethanol, some of which spilled. The liquid is highly flammable and explosive and is a respiratory irritant. No fire or explosion occurred, Carroll said, and no injuries related to the spilled liquid have been reported.

The spill forced officials to issue a shelter-in-place order for nearby Hamshire-Fannett High School, but that order was lifted about 11:20 a.m. About 10 homes in the rural area near the crash site were evacuated. The spill also forced officials to close the freeway in both directions near the wreck while workers cleanup the ethanol and clear the area.
Carroll said crews will seal punctures in the tanker and then pump the ethanol out of it into another truck. The freeway will likely be closed until at least 5 p.m. or longer. Residents are being asked to remain away from their homes and out of the area until the cleanup is complete.