Truck driver fled Warrego Highway crash as toxic sludge spilt from Austrans waste truck

A truckie was seen fleeing into bush land after he crashed and rolled a waste truck on a major south west Queensland highway, here’s why:

Fernvale truckie rolls Austrans truck full of toxic sludge along major south west highway while allegedly intoxicated. Picture: Peta McEachern

Mayhem erupted on the Warrego Highway when a B-Double carrying toxic waste crashed and rolled 7km west of Chinchilla, spilling a large amount of oil and diesel.

An Austrans employee attends the scene of the truck crash. Picture: Peta McEachern

A Queensland Police spokeswoman said witnesses saw the 38-year-old Fernvale driver fleeing from the crash on foot into nearby bush land.

A Chinchilla police spokeswoman said the man was allegedly driving under the influence of an intoxicating substance when he lost control of the heavy vehicle.

The Austrans driver was travelling east towards Chinchilla on a straight stretch of the 110km/h highway when he crashed on Tuesday afternoon, October 5.

Traffic was forced to slow along the Warrego Highway as council contactors worked to clean up the spill late into the night. Picture: Peta McEachern

When police arrived on scene, the man was easily located by officers in nearby scrubland with a member of the public.

A Queensland Ambulance spokeswoman said the driver was then transported to Chinchilla in a stable condition where he was treated for minor cuts and scrapes.

The man was later charged with the dangerous operation of a vehicle while under the influence.

A Queensland Fire and Emergency Service spokeswoman said two crews attended the scene at 3.30pm to contain a diesel spill.

The morning after the crash foul smelling oily debris littered the roadside. Picture: Peta McEachern

Although the Environment Protection Agency was notified of the spill, Western Downs Regional Council was the lead agency tasked to remove the oily sludge from the major highway.

A WDRC spokeswoman said the council was contacted by police and the Department of Transport and Main Roads to manage traffic during the clean-up.

“Council provided traffic management on site, as well as the safe removal and disposal of oily hydrocarbon waste products and drums, which were lost from the truck during the incident,” she said.

Warrego Highway Austrans waste truck rollover. Pictures: Peta McEachern

The strong smelling sludge and oil cans littered the highway the next morning despite an excavator working into the night to dig up large chunks of the roadside.

Austrans is an industry leader in waste management services and specialises in cleaning up spills.

The east coast Australian company declined to comment on the incident.

Originally published as Truck driver fled Warrego Highway crash as toxic sludge spilt from Austrans waste truck