A loaded fuel tanker overturned on Green Pond Hwy. at the intersection of Wisteria Rd. in the Green Pond Community, Monday, February 23rd. The vehicle drove off of the right shoulder of the road, over corrected, crossed to the northbound ditch, slide sideways, and rolled over twice. The 4500-gallon tank separated from the truck body. A three-foot hole was torn in the front compartment of the tank causing a diesel fuel leak. The truck was hauling a combination of gasoline and diesel fuel. Two other compartments remained intact and did not leak. The unrestrained driver was ejected from truck and was found in the roadway. Colleton County Firefighter-Paramedics arrived within minutes and blocked off Green Pond Highway. Deputies from the Colleton County Sheriff’s Department detoured traffic at Clover Hill Road and Wood Road. The scene was covered in diesel fuel and debris. Firefighter-Paramedics treated the driver, who suffered multiple injuries and a head injury. CARE Flight responded to the field at the corner of ACE Basin Parkway and Wood Road where the victim was quickly decontaminated before being flown to the Trauma Center at MUSC in Charleston. A HazMat truck as well as the ARFF truck responded to the incident. The leak was too large to seal, the trucking company brought a second tanker to the scene to off loaded the remaining product with a local contractor bringing a mobile tank to assist. Recovery crews from Gerald’s Wrecker Service and Eric Bailey’s Wrecker Service used a rotator wrecker to lift the tank and placed it on a lowboy trailer to clear the scene. Green Pond Highway was closed in the area of the accident for five hours. The accident is being investigated by the South Carolina Highway Patrol and State Transport Police.
