LOUISVILLE, Ky. — A major interstate in Louisville shut down Wednesday morning due to a crash involving an overturned tanker, which spilled thousands of gallons of gasoline on the roadway.
The overturned tanker blocked several lanes of I-64 East near the I-264 ramp in St. Matthews. Louisville Metro Police said on their social media that the interstate is reopened as of 6:57 p.m. It was closed for almost nine hours.
At about 8:20 a.m., LMPD responded to a call for service on a tanker that had overturned on I-64 East at the Watterson Expressway overpass.
Officers on scene found the commercial vehicle overturned, blocking several lanes and leaking gasoline. The tanker lost 4,000 gallons of gasoline, LMPD said.
In the afternoon, emergency crews said "out of an abundance of caution" they evacuated 30 homes in St. Regis Park when they started the offloading process of gasoline from the tanker. Authorities said those residents who were evacuated from the area were allowed to return home as of 2:30 p.m.
"Before you knew it, I saw other cars pulling out of here as quick as they could," Theresa Davis, a neighbor in the area, said. "It was bumper to bumper and I'll tell you why, because there were cars coming down this direction, over on the other side, everybody here pulling out."
One of those cars belonged to homeowner Collette Davis.
"[I] loaded up my four dogs, my go bag and I was out in 10 minutes," she said.
Davis said as she pulled out, she called her daughter who lives in Lexington.
"I left her a voicemail because I know she was in a work meeting, and I thought this might be the last time [I talk to her] if this place goes up," she said. "It was just crazy and hectic. It really does put things into perspective...and before Christmas? I probably couldn't have had a better lesson."
David Hermsen, who also had to evacuate, said he believes he heard the initial accident happen Wednesday morning.
"[It was] a normal car wreck sound," he said. "But I saw something go up in the air but I don't know if it was liquid. It wasn't smoke because it didn't keep on smoking."
Carolyn Callahan, JCPS spokesperson, said many JCPS buses likely experienced delays Wednesday afternoon because of the incident. In addition, she said the parking lot at Greathouse/Shryock was being used by LMPD as a staging area for emergency crews.
EMS was on scene to check on the driver. Authorities believe no other vehicles were involved in the accident. The cause of the crash is currently unknown.
LMPD's Traffic Unit is handling the investigation.
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