A tanker hauling liquid propane overturned on Morningstar Road in Franklin Township on Wednesday afternoon after a dark-colored sedan crossed into its lane, spilling fuel and sending two people to the hospital with serious injuries. The sedan's driver never stopped.
The crash happened around 2:14 p.m. on Morningstar Road in Franklin Township, Warren County, according to WKRC. The tanker was headed north when a southbound sedan crossed left of center and entered its lane, per the Ohio State Highway Patrol's preliminary investigation, and the tanker driver swerved to avoid a collision, left the road, and overturned.
The driver, a 66-year-old Middletown resident, and the passenger, a 55-year-old Germantown resident, were taken to a hospital with serious but non-life-threatening injuries, the station's report notes. An undetermined amount of propane and diesel fuel leaked from the tanker, prompting a hazardous materials response.
Multiple Agencies Respond to Contain the Spill
Multiple fire departments, the Greater Cincinnati Hazardous Materials Unit, the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency, Franklin Joint Emergency Medical Services and the Warren County Sheriff's Office all assisted at the scene, according to the same account. Morningstar Road was closed for more than four hours while crews responded to the leak and cleared the wreckage.
The sedan that triggered the crash left the scene, and the collision remains under investigation. Anyone who witnessed the crash or has information about the sedan is asked to contact the Ohio State Highway Patrol's Lebanon Post, per the report.
Not an Isolated Incident for Propane Haulers
Tanker rollovers involving hazardous cargo have made headlines elsewhere in recent weeks. In Tennessee, a semi-truck pulling a tank full of propane lost control and crashed in a grassy field near Turnersville Road in Robertson County around 5 a.m. Tuesday, according to WSMV. That crash left the driver with non-life-threatening injuries, and law enforcement closed the surrounding intersection while hazmat crews checked for leaks; the outlet, citing Smokey Barn News, reported none were found.
Ohio has also seen more severe outcomes from similar crashes. In January 2024, a tanker carrying roughly 7,500 gallons of diesel crashed near the ramp to Interstate 271 north in Northfield Center Township, killing the driver and briefly igniting a nearby creek, according to U.S. News & World Report. The Ohio EPA planned to excavate soil affected by that spill and monitor the cleanup for risks to nearby residents and waterways.
No such environmental outcome has been reported for the Morningstar Road spill, and the full extent of the leak's impact has not been determined. The investigation into Wednesday's crash continues as investigators work to identify the sedan involved.
