Highway 25-E in Harrogate was shutdown early Friday morning after a coal truck collided with a pickup causing the coal truck to turn on its side spilling coal onto the northbound lanes of the highway. Crews worked for hours cleaning the coal and removing diesel fuel that spilled into the median. The driver of the pickup was transported to the hospital to be evaluated for his injuries. The driver of the coal truck was not injured in the accident. The cause of the accident is still under investigation.
The accident happened at the intersection of Highway 63 and Highway 25-E when the driver of the coal truck, Ritchie Rose, 54, of Corryton was traveling southbound through the red light.
The driver of a white Chevy pick-up was making a right turn onto 25-E from Highway 63 when the trucks collided.
The pickup spun around, causing it to land in the opposite direction of what it was traveling. The coal truck skid across the roadway and turned over on its side, shutting down the south bound lanes of 25-E.
Coal from the bucket of the truck poured onto the northbound lane of 25-E, closing the highway completely.
Claiborne County Sheriff’s Office along with the Harrogate Fire Department worked to extricate David Lee Russell, 24, of Speedwell from the Chevy truck. Claiborne County EMS then transported Russell to Claiborne County ER where he was treated for his injuries. The driver of the coal truck was not injured.
Several agencies were called to the scene to assist: TDOT, TDEC, Arthur Shawanee Utility District, HEPACO, Claiborne OEMHS and Quality Wrecker Service.
Sheriff David Ray along with Claiborne County Mayor Jack Daniels assisted on the scene as well.
Environmental clean-up agency HEPACO stayed on the scene for several hours to clean the coal from the roadway and remove the diesel that spilled from the truck.
According to David Breeding, Director of Claiborne OEMHS, Tennessee Department of Environmental Conservation (TDEC) says that any spill of hydrocarbon material such as gasoline or diesel fuel over 10 gallons requires special clean-up.
It was estimated at 190 gallons of diesel leaked into the median of the highway at this accident. The topsoil in the affected area had to be removed and soil samples were retrieved and will be sent to the TDEC office.
If the samples come back clean, then nothing further has to be done, but if the samples show contamination, the crew will have to come back and dig up more soil.
The northbound lane of Highway 25-E was closed down to one lane for several hours while the team worked to clean the area.
The accident is under investigation by the Tennessee Highway Patrol.
Ashley Collingsworth is a staff writer for the Claiborne Progress.
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