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St. Charles crash closes Route 38

Route 38 in St. Charles was shut down for hours Tuesday as emergency crews cleaned up diesel fuel and gasoline spilled along the highway when a tanker truck overturned.

The accident was reported about 11:30 a.m., just west of Peck Road, after the eastbound truck clipped a guardrail on the north side of the street and toppled over into a culvert, police spokesman Paul McCurtain said.

The driver crawled to safety through the windshield and was taken to Delnor-Community Hospital in Geneva with minor injuries. No one else was hurt.

"We're not sure at this point what caused the driver to lose control," McCurtain said.

Local police and firefighters, state police and representatives from the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency responded.

As a precaution, crews sprayed the scene with a flame-retardant foam before attempting to clean up the wreckage.

As of Tuesday afternoon, no citations had been issued and police were not releasing the truck driver's identity.

"It's still under investigation," McCurtain said.

Firefighters spray foam onto a fuel truck that rolled over off on Route 38 in St. Charles. Rick West | Staff Photographer
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