Dec 6, 2002 By Patty Shultz 3 min read

CONNELLSVILLE – It appears that neither the local police nor the state environmental agency will levy charges or fines against a driver whose tanker truck overturned and spilled 7,700 gallons of fuel along Route 119. Connellsville Police Chief Stephen Cooper said accident reports submitted by department investigators and the federal and state Department of Transportation indicated Wayne Bocz was not exceeding the speed limit when the Nov. 21 accident took place.

“Everything that we have gotten from witnesses and from the scene indicates that Mr. Bocz was under the 35 mph speed limit,” Cooper said. “There were no skid marks, which shows he didn’t have to brake in order to slow down as he went into the curve. We don’t know exactly what caused the accident, but it wasn’t that he was exceeding the speed limit.”

Bocz, 54, of Homer City was traveling in the southbound lanes through the city and had just crossed the Memorial Bridge when the tanker truck load started to shift as he rounded the S-curve near the Crawford Avenue/routes 119 and 201 intersection.

When the truck overturned, it exploded and began spilling its contents along the highway and subsequently into the city storm sewerage system and Youghiogheny River.

No one was injured in the accident.

Cooper, meanwhile, said federal and state transportation department inspectors checked the vehicle’s brake linings, tires and other mechanical features and did not find any related failures in the systems.

Betsy Mallison, spokeswoman for the state Department of Environmental Protection (DEP), said she anticipates no fines will be imposed on Bocz or Accent Fuel Inc, the owner of the rig, despite the resulting contamination to the areas at the fuel spill and the river.

“It was just an accident,” she said. “There was a lot of inconvenience to the residents in Connellsville and some clean up on the river, but it was purely an accident.”

Mallison credited the quick response by local fire departments to immediately contain the fuel spillage with booms and constructing a siphon dam that averted a major disaster.

“They really saved the day,” she said.

Residents within the immediate area and businesses were evacuated for several hours while emergency crews and the DEP checked for fumes from the fuel leakage into the sewerage system.

Mallison said Weavertown Environmental Group completed its cleanup along the river over the weekend.

The Canonsburg firm was called to the site shortly after the accident to assist with the removal of contaminated soil along the highway and affected water.

Mallison said an inspection of the river conducted by DEP on Wednesday did not indicate any adverse impact to the aquatic life. While it was initially reported several ducks were found dead after the spill, Mallison said she has not been able to verify the information.

DEP officials and Mallison met with Connellsville Area High School students on Wednesday to discuss the environmental impact following the accident.

“The students were very interested in how we handled the accident and the equipment that was used in the cleanup,” she said. “It was especially interesting to them because it happened in their own back yard.”

While the overall cost of the cleanup effort was unavailable, the city street, police and fire departments have turned over invoices tallying $15,000 for expenses related to personnel, equipment and materials used throughout the day.

The billing was made to the insurance carrier for Accent Fuel.