Sacramento, Calif.-Highway patrol investigators aren’t putting any blame on the driver of a TruGreen Lawncare fertilizer truck for a Feb. 17 early-morning freeway crash that resulted in the spill of as much as 200 gallons of liquid nitrogen, requiring a large pumper truck to be brought in order to keep the liquid out of the drain system. Patrol spokesman Michael Bradley said a southbound vehicle started the chain reaction during a rainstorm by cutting off another car whose driver lost control, hit a sound wall, bounced back into traffic, and hit the TruGreen truck. The first car got away and was listed as “non-contact hit and run.” He said the truck driver was taken to the hospital for minor injuries and released. Bradley estimated that the fertilizer truck was carrying about 250 gallons of fertilizer and “more than less” was spilled, plus the contents of an undetermined number of granular fertilizer bags, which added to the mess. He said the southbound portion of the freeway was closed for three hours. TruGreen parent ServiceMaster of Memphis, Tenn., said TruGreen is working closely with authorities to establish more information about the accident and is continuing to monitor the situation.
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