(Duluth, Ga., May 21, 2019) – Firefighters responded at 3:18 p.m. to a report of an overturned tractor-trailer on Duluth Highway NW between Boggs Road NW and Northmont Parkway NW. Caller to 911 reported the tractor-trailer went over the guardrail and overturned.

Fire crews arrived on scene and found one tractor-trailer overturned and off the roadway. The driver had self-extricated from the cab and was not injured. The tractor-trailer had ruptured a saddle tank and was actively leaking diesel fuel into the ground in close proximity to Sweetwater Creek. Hazardous Material Technicians arrived on scene shortly after the first arriving crews and began to mitigate the incident. A containment pool was placed underneath the active leak while team members patched the hole in the saddle tank. Additional crew members focused on Sweetwater Creek which appeared to not be affected. Firefighters constructed an underflow dam as precaution which is designed to keep fuel floating on top of water contained in an area while allowing the water underneath to keep flowing downstream. The creek tested negative for any contaminants. The entire scene was continuously monitored while heavy equipment was utilized to upright the tractor-trailer for transport.

The tractor-trailer has been successfully removed without further incident. Sweetwater Creek continued to not be affected throughout the scene. A representative from the Department of Water Resources was on scene monitoring the situation. Fire units have returned to service and the incident has been turned over to the Gwinnett County Police Department with GDOT assessing the condition of the roadway and concrete guardrail.

EQUIPMENT AT THE SCENE INCLUDED: 1-Engine, 1-Ladder Truck, 1-Squad, 1-Hazmat Unit, 1-Rehab Unit, 1-Medic Unit and 1-Battalion Chief