SEMI-TRUCK TANKER ROLLS OVER ON NW MARTIN ROAD

Forest Grove and Cornelius Firefighters were called to the scene of a semi truck rolled over on NW Martin Road around 2:00 pm this afternoon. When crews arrived on scene a passing motorist was inside the cab of the crashed semi holding the unconscious truck driver up and preventing further injury. Crews had to use ladders to access the cab of the vehicle and remove the driver who was transported to the trauma center at Legacy Emmanuel Hospital in Portland for treatment. The semi truck had no signs visible to initially identify it’s cargo but a Forest Grove Police Officer crawled into the cab of the truck to find identification papers that indicated that the semi-truck was pulling a trailer that was full of a chemical called magnesium hydroxide at the time of the accident.

Firefighters evaluated the trailer and found that though it was damaged it was not leaking and after consulting with the regional hazardous materials response team determined that there was no threat to the public or the environment. There was however a small diesel fuel spill from the fuel tanks of the semi that firefighters cleaned up on scene and also made a small dam in the ditch to prevent diesel from getting into the rest of the road drainage system. NW Martin Road was closed for approximately two hours while crews worked to remove the injured driver and right the flipped over semi truck and trailer.