A Johnston County truck stop was briefly evacuated and a nearby roadway temporarily shut down after chemicals were found leaking from a tractor trailer at the Flying J Truck Stop on Princeton-Kenly Road, at Exit 106 off I-95, Friday night.
The truck was hauling a load of cleaning solutions from Dunmore, PA to Orlando, FL according to Kenly Fire Chief Paul Whitehurst.
The driver stopped at the truck stop around 8:15pm to refuel and discovered some of the chemicals were leaking out of the trailer. Whitehurst said the driver reported that a car pulled in front of him near the 150 mile marker on I-95 and braked hard. Officials think that may have been when the load shifted and the leak started.
Emergency crews responded to the scene and temporarily evacuated the truck stop and shut down the roadway within 500 feet of the spill until officials determined the exact type of chemical that was leaking.
The Raleigh Regional Hazardous Materials Response Team, Kenly Fire Department, Micro Fire Department, Johnston and Wake County EMS, Highway Patrol, Johnston County Sheriff’s Office, Kenly Police, and NC Department of Transportation responded.
Chief Whitehurst said after it was determined the acid was not producing any fumes or vapors, the evacuation order was lifted. A private contractor was called to the scene to clean up the spill from the parking lot and secure the chemical inside the trailer.
Crews cleared from the scene around 1:40am Saturday. No injuries were reported.
Photos courtesy John Payne.
