OHIO — Hazardous materials crews responded to a semi truck fire early Tuesday morning on the Ohio Turnpike in Berea.
The fire was reported around midnight near milepost 158.9 by the Sprague Road overpass. Authorities said the semi truck, which was hauling calcium hypochlorite, became fully engulfed after a brake fire.
Traffic was diverted for about an hour at Toll Plaza 151 in North Ridgeville–Cleveland and Toll Plaza 161 in Strongsville–Cleveland as emergency crews worked to contain the fire and assess potential hazards.
Agents with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency tested the surrounding area and later gave the all-clear. Westbound lanes of the Ohio Turnpike were fully reopened by 3:30 a.m.
Intermittent lane restrictions remain in place on the eastbound side as cleanup and recovery operations continue.
The truck driver, a 29-year-old man from Mississippi, was not injured. Troopers with the Ohio State Highway Patrol said the incident remains under investigation.
