KEWASKUM — Just after 8 a.m. on Friday, the Washington County Sheriff's Office responded to a one-vehicle crash on Highland Drive in the Town of Kewaskum.
According to the release, crash investigation found a trailer had been traveling north on Highland Drive between Hwy H and Hwy 28. Vehicles had come off the overturned trailer and were upside down in the ditch. The uninjured operator remained on scene.
The operator told authorities there was a southbound vehicle operating near the center of the roadway, resulting in his moving slightly to the edge of the road.
This caused his trailer tires to enter the steep declining ditch line and disconnect from the truck, rolling over onto its side. However, no evidence was found to support the claim of this southbound vehicle, and none of its driver’s actions would have been unlawful had it been there.
When sheriff‘s deputies and Kewaskum Fire personnel arrived, one of the upside-down vehicles, a large work van, appeared to be smoking. Upon further inspection, they found a pressurized tank (approximately 100 gallons) of liquid nitrogen leaking in the rear of the van. This prompted fire personnel to request assistance from the Washington County Hazmat team. Hazmat found that the tank was off-gassing as designed, eliminating built-up pressure inside the tank to keep the tank from rupturing. Once the vehicle was flipped back upright, it was removed. There is no public safety concern because of the liquid nitrogen off-gassing.
To facilitate cleanup, Highland Drive was closed to traffic for approximately 3 1/2 hours. According to the release, the operator chose Highland Drive rather than remain on the designated detour route due to area construction in the village of Kewaskum.
Highland Drive is not a roadway that a vehicle of this type should be operating upon.
As a reminder to citizens traveling through this area, the release advised vehicle operators to follow detour routes. These routes are chosen with public safety and roadway capacity in mind, according to the release.
