MIDDLEBORO —  A portion of Route 44 westbound, including the exit and entrance ramps to 495 North and South was closed for much of the afternoon of Sunday, Jan. 29 when a truck loaded with 4,200 gallons of diesel fuel overturned, Fire Chief Owen Thompson said.

The accident was reported at about 9:30 a.m., Thompson said. The truck was traveling on Route 44 in the area of the Holiday Inn Express, Fairfield Inn and Irving gas station when the driver apparently swerved to miss a car exiting a driveway in the area, according to a witness statement relayed by Thompson.

The portion of the road was closed from about 1 to 4 p.m. to allow for clean-up efforts and for the truck to be removed from the ditch where it landed and taken from the scene. 

Representatives from the Department of Fire Services hazardous materials clean-up team arrived on the scene to help remove fuel from the vehicle. By drilling holes into the truck, the technicians safely removed about 4,100 gallons from the truck, Thompson said, while another 50 gallons remained in the vehicle when it was transported from the scene.

Global Remediation cleaned the remainder of the fuel that had leaked into soil. No public drinking water was impacted by the spill. Original concerns about possible impact on a bog about a half mile away were eased when the relatively small size of the spill was identified, Thompson said.

The driver of the truck suffered minor injuries and was transported to the hospital as a precaution. His identity was not available.

The road was reopened at about 4 p.m., the chief said. Remediation efforts continued into the night and were completed by Monday morning Jan. 30.

At least one area business, Muckey’s Liquors in Lakeville, closed for the day following the road closure, according to social media reports.