By late afternoon, FM 1670, which crosses the dam, remained closed to through traffic as tow trucks worked to right the Mack truck and tanker owned by S&M Vacuum and Waste of Killeen and crews worked to clean the road.
Sammie Rogers Jr., 51, of Killeen was driving north on FM 1670 about 10 a.m. when he lost control of the truck, Department of Public Safety Trooper Deanna Foster said.
“He got distracted looking over there,” she said as she pointed toward the lake.
During that moment of distraction, the truck drifted toward the oncoming lane of traffic. He then overcorrected when he pulled the truck back to his lane and lost control, according to Trooper Foster.
“He hit the guard rail. He had a full load, and it tipped him over,” she said.
Rogers was trapped inside the cab of the truck and had to be extricated before being flown by StatAir to Scott and White Memorial Hospital.
“They’re going to keep him overnight for observation,” Trooper Foster said. “He was really blessed.”
Glen Grandy, owner of S&M Vacuum and Waste, said Rogers was OK, but he remained hospitalized Tuesday evening.
In order to right the tanker, which lay on its side to the east of FM 1670, sewage had to be pumped to another tanker, Foster said. Grandy said the tanker was full at the time of the accident, and two trucks responded within 20 minutes to the scene to offload the waste. The sewage transfer began about 11 a.m. and was completed by about 11:30 a.m. Temple Towing then began working to right the truck and the tanker. It was upright by 4 p.m., and the road was reopened to traffic a short time later.
Temple Fire and Rescue, along with Stillhouse Volunteer Fire Department and Belton Fire Department, responded to the accident. Temple Capt. Leroy Vargas said the city sent a rescue squad to the scene as part of the regional hazardous material team.
“No further mitigation was needed,” he said.
Jason Neuman, an environmental investigator with the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality, said there was minor environmental impact from the accident. He said a small amount of hydraulic oil and less than 50 gallons of sewage leaked during the wreck.
“We got very lucky on that situation,” he said. “He was hauling over 7,000 gallons and they were able to reclaim over 95 percent of that.”
Workers spread lime over the sewage spill. The area where the hydraulic oil spilled must be dug up, according to Neuman.
“It would have been a totally different ballgame if it had been on the other side,” he said.
Stillhouse Hollow Reservoir waters lapped the rocks on west side of FM 1670.
jsicking@temple-telegram.com
