A CAR WITH ITS wheels covered in driveway sealant sits in a parking lot in Harmar, Pa., after exiting the Pennsylvania Turnpike on Tuesday night. A flood of the gooey material dropped from a tanker truck disabled more than 100 cars and damaged an unknown number of other vehicles along a nearly 40-mile stretch of the turnpike, officials said.
A leaking valve on a tanker spread driveway sealant over the eastbound lanes of a long stretch of the turnpike between New Castle and the Oakmont Service Plaza on Tuesday night, turnpike spokesman Bill Capone said.
Turnpike operations officials on Wednesday said 150 or more cars were disabled when the sticky goo covered their tires and wheels. Some state police and turnpike maintenance vehicles had to be towed away after getting stuck in the tar-like substance, according to the turnpike operations center.
Traffic was moving normally by Wednesday morning, but the sticky mess hindered the travel plans of some motorists traveling for the Thanksgiving holiday.
Laura Frick told WTAE-TV she was traveling from Cleveland to New Jersey for the holiday.
“Now we have to turn around and go back home,” Frick said. “It’s horrible.”
Retired firefighter Bob King told the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review the experience was the most harrowing of his life.
“It caught us off guard,” said King, who now lives near Chicago. “It didn’t seem like anyone knew what it was or what to do. It had to be an incredible amount of tar. It’s still piled on my tires.”
Cpl. Mike Corna, with the state police barracks that patrol the pike near Pittsburgh, said Wednesday the driver will be cited for not properly securing his load, though the specific tickets to be issued were still being determined. Police have yet to trace the origin of the load. The tank was filled somewhere in Ohio.
Comments are not available on this story.
Send questions/comments to the editors.
