POSEYVILLE, IN (WFIE) -
A tanker wreck in Posey County put out the lights for hundreds of Duke energy customers and had a busy road blocked for about nine hours on Monday.
It happened just before 9 A.M. North of Poseyville, on Indiana 165 & Mulkey Rd.
59-year-old John O. Schmitt of Poseyville was driving a 2006 Freightliner tractor and pulling a tanker full of fuel northbound S.R. 165 north of I-64.
Schmitt was transporting fuel for Country Mark.
For unknown reasons, the tractor and trailer left the roadway on the east side near Mulkey Road, struck a utility pole and overturned. The vehicle came to a final rest on its top and the tanker spilled fuel onto the roadway and into a nearby ditch.
Posey County EMA Director Larry Robb says it leaked about 8,500 gallons of gasoline. A Hazmat team checked out that situation.
Trooper Jacobs and three Samaritans cut the driver's seat belt and pulled him from the tractor before EMS arrived. We're told he sustained a "significant head injury" and was taken to Deaconess Hospital. He is listed fair condition Monday night.
The truck also hit a power pole; knocking power out to around 650 houses, including North Elementary. Classes at the school were dismissed early.
Because of the location of the accident that was near a substation, it took longer for the power to be restored.
The Poseyville town council president says sewer and water were not affected by the outage. They are on a generator.
He also says that there was a generator running at the fire department where residents could go if they get cold without power.
The power was restored to those who were without it all day around after 9:00 p.m. Monday night.
State police are still trying to find out what caused the tanker to flip.
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Photo Courtesy: Sgt. Todd Ringle, ISP
Photo Courtesy: Sgt. Todd Ringle, ISP
