Tanker/car accident shuts down M-68 Wednesday

December 5, 2013 Editor

The Cheboygan County Sheriff’s Department was dispatched to an accident on M-68 near East Tower Road in Forest Township Wednesday at 9:05 a.m. A collision had occurred between a passenger car and a semi-truck tanker. Deputies, fire departments and EMS were dispatched to the scene.

4913-Accident-1 — A PROPANE tanker was involved in an accident Wednesday along M-68 in front of the Forest Township Cemetery. Crews successfully transferred the contents to another truck, but not before many residents of the immediate area had to be evacuated from their homes. (Photos courtesy of the Cheboygan County Sheriff’s Department)

The investigation revealed a 2003 Chevy Impala was traveling westbound on M-68 at East Tower Road when the driver, an Onaway woman, lost control and crossed the centerline into the path of the eastbound semi-truck. The semi-truck collided with the car just behind the driver’s side front seat, splitting the car in two. The semi-truck rolled onto its right side, sliding down M-68 for two hundred feet before coming to rest blocking M-68.

The female driver of the car and only occupant was transported to McLaren Petoskey as well as the male truck driver, from Houghton Lake, and only occupant of the semi-truck. Both are expected to recover. The jaws of life were used to extricate the semi-driver.

The tanker was hauling approximately 10,000 pounds of liquid propane that needed to be transferred to another tanker. The propane remained contained in the tanker.

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M-68 was shut down for many hours for investigation, clean-up and the transfer of the propane.

At the time of the accident the roads were slick. Alcohol may have played a factor. The accident remains under investigation. At this time the names of the drivers are not being released.

The Cheboygan County Emergency Operations Coordinator along with Incident Command monitored the scene to ensure the safe transfer of the propane.

Assisting at the scene were the Forest-Waverly Fire Department, Onaway Fire Department, Cheboygan Life Support Systems, Onaway Ambulance, MSP Motor Carrier, Conway Towing, Grainger Towing, Petoskey Crane and the Salvation Army as they took care of the emergency responders.