SPOKANE COUNTY, Wash. — WSDOT East says crews have finished clearing the hazardous material spill near Tyler. As of 9 p.m., all lanes of eastbound I-90 have been reopened.
The truck crashed around 8:30 p.m. on Tuesday near Tyler, which is about 20 miles west of Spokane. WSP said the driver, a 62-year-old man from Wyoming, had a heart attack before crashing. As of 10:30 a.m. Wednesday, the driver is on a pacer machine and is expected to be okay.
The truck crossed both westbound lanes, the median and eastbound lanes before crashing into a ditch.
The truck, which was carrying about 56,000 pounds of ammonium nitrate (liquid fertilizer), started leaking. With concerns that the ammonium nitrate could mix with diesel fuel and catch fire, emergency crews shut down both directions of I-90 and issued an evacuation order in the area.
The evacuation has since been lifted and traffic is back open in the westbound lanes of I-90. WSP said cooler temperatures and calm weather helped lower the fire risk.
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