Oil truck rolls west of city

BROOKINGS – An oil truck rollover and a subsequent oil spill southwest of Brookings Thursday afternoon are being investigated by the Brookings County Sheriff’s Office.

A Kingsbury County Highway Department tank truck veered into a roadside ditch southwest of the city around 4 p.m., and the sheriff’s office and Fire Chief Darrell Hartmann were called to the scene to assist.

The driver of the vehicle was apparently uninjured.

Observers at the scene said the truck was traveling on 32nd Street South, west of town, when the driver apparently swerved to avoid a pothole. The liquid load shifted and the truck rolled into the ditch, spilling a quantity of oil.

Just how much oil, and what type, was involved in the spill is unknown. Workers on the scene put down mats to soak up some of the liquid that had spilled, possibly fuel oil.

The truck was pulled from the ditch by Dakota Service tow trucks, which remained on the scene until about 10 p.m. Thursday.

The trucker had been in Brookings to pick up a load of heavy road oil at Bowes Construction.

Assistant Sheriff Scott Sebring could not release additional details of the incident; accident reports have not yet been filed and the case remains under investigation.