A massive diesel fuel spill of approximately1,000 gallons following a collision between two commercial big rigs closed two lanes of traffic on the San Bernardino (10) Freeway Thursday in Banning.
Firefighters responded at 1:35 a.m. to the eastbound freeway near Hargrave Street where they found downed power lines and the two big rigs, with one on its side leaking diesel fuel from its saddle tanks and the other transporting several thousand gallons of gasoline, said the Riverside County Fire Department.
Union Pacific Railroad authorities have stopped all train traffic temporarily in both directions and two lanes of the westbound freeway were closed.
The drivers are being evaluated at the scene by paramedics, the fire department said.
The Hazardous Materials Team was called to mitigate the fuel leak and Banning Electric was contacted to de-energize the downed power lines, fire department officials said.
In addition, Riverside County Environmental Health has been requested to facilitate the cleanup.