Acid spill closes SR 60
PHOTO BY STEVE STEINER
Containers that held sulfuric acid, and bags of salt pellets, lay on State Road 60. The impact of the fall caused four of six containers to burst upon impact.
PHOTO BY STEVE STEINER
The driver of the truck (center) suffered chemical burns to his lower extremities. He later was airlifted to Tampa General.
PHOTO BY STEVE STEINER
The destroyed boots and clothing of the driver who stepped in sulfuric acid lay crumpled on the ground outside the Peace Creek Station, which is located near the junction of Rifle Range Road and State Road 60.
A shift in the cargo of a flatbed truck spilled an estimated 1,000 gallons of sulfuric acid and resulted with the driver, Eric Scott Garland, 47, 550 Cypress Street, Wauchula, being airlifted to Tampa General Hospital with sulfuric acid burns.
According to an officer with the Polk County Sheriff’s Office, at approximately 5:45 a.m., Garland made a hard stop at the junction of State Road 60 and Rifle Range Road. The abrupt halt caused the cargo containing six pods of sulfuric acid as well as bags of salt pellets to shift and spill upon S.R. 60. At least four of the pods broke open. Each pod holds 250 gallons, according to Brad Ruhmann, public information officer with the Polk County Fire Rescue Department. Ruhmann estimated 1,000 gallons had spilled.
