Vehicle towing van with 100gal of liquid nitrogen crashes in Kewaskum, no injuries

Washington County Sheriff's Office

KEWASKUM, Wis. (WFRV) – A single-vehicle crash in Washington County closed Highland Drive for nearly four hours on Friday.

According to the Washington County Sheriff’s Office, on April 19, shortly after 8:15 a.m., deputies responded to a one-vehicle crash on Highland Drive in the town of Kewaskum.

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Callers informed communication officers that the involved vehicle was pulling a trailer loaded with two additional vehicles. The towed vehicles had come off the overturned trailer and were upside down and smoking in the ditch.

The operator of the vehicle, who was uninjured, remained on the scene.

Upon arrival, deputies and Kewaskum firefighters found one of the upside-down towed vehicles was smoking. Upon further inspection, a pressurized tank of liquid nitrogen was in the rear of the van. Officials believe the tank was carrying around 100 gallons of liquid nitrogen.

Based on the information, the Washington County Hazmat Team was called and found the tank was off-gassing as designed. The off-gassing eliminated built-up pressure inside the tank, keeping it from rupturing.

Once the vehicle was flipped over, the tank was removed, and officials said there was no public safety concern because of the liquid nitrogen.

The crash investigation found that the involved vehicle was traveling north on Highland Drive between County Highway H and State Highway 28. The operator alleges that a southbound vehicle was operating near the center of the roadway, resulting in him moving slightly to the edge of the road.

The operator chose Highland Drive rather than remaining on the designated detour route due to area construction in the village of Kewaskum. Highland Drive is not a roadway on which a vehicle of this type should be operating.

As a reminder, the Washington County Sheriff’s Office says vehicle operators should follow detour routes. These routes are chosen with public safety and roadway capacity in mind.

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To facilitate scene clean up, Highland Drive was closed to traffic for approximately 3½ hours. The Wisconsin State Patrol also assisted with inspecting the involved vehicle.

No additional details were provided.

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