HazMat Incident Closes Peekskill Hollow Road For 21 Hours

PUTNAM VALLEY, NY — An overturned tank truck closed Peekskill Hollow Road for 21 hours Monday-Tuesday as crews worked to contain fluid spills and right the vehicle. The driver suffered minor injuries.

The accident happened at 1 p.m. Monday. The driver of the tanker truck, which went off the road and into a tree, told Putnam sheriff's deputies that while driving on Tinker Hill Road, to a jobsite located off Barger Street, he “lost his air and brakes, and could not stop" the truck.

About 3,300 gallons of asphalt emulsion spilled into the stream, according to the Putnam County Sheriff's Office.

The tanker crossed over the intersection of Tinker-Hill Road and Peekskill Hollow Road, onto Peekskill Hollow Road, through a guard-rail and into a stream, before stopping after hitting two trees.

As a result of the accident, asphalt emulsion poured out of the back of the truck, into the stream that feeds into Peekskill Hollow Brook, which is a source of drinking water for the City of Peekskill.

Westchester County Hazmat, NYS Hazmat, and the New York State ENCON Police Department were notified and responded to the spill.

Further investigation revealed that the truck's weight was over the limit for operation on Tinker Hill Road, in violation of Putnam Valley Local Code 120-17.1.C- Operating a Commercial Vehicle on Tinker Hill Road.

Zachary Sultan, 34, of Amsterdam, New York injured his leg and was transported to Westchester Medical Center for further medical evaluation.

Sultan was issued appearance tickets for the local law violation, and for Vehicle and Traffic Law 385.14- Operating a Vehicle Over Posted Weight on a Public Highway, Vehicle and Traffic Law 1110A- Failure to Obey a Traffic Control Device, and Vehicle and Traffic Law 1172A- Failure to Stop at a Stop Sign.

All appearance tickets are returnable to the Town of Putnam Valley Justice Court.

As a result of the accident, that section of Peekskill Hollow Road was closed until 9:18 a.m. Tuesday.

The departments and agencies that responded included:

• Putnam Valley Volunteer Fire Department
• Mahopac Volunteer Fire Department
• Putnam County Sheriffs Department
• Putnam County Bureau of Emergency Services Hazmat Team
• Westchester County Hazmat Team
• Montrose VA Fire Department Hazmat Team
• NY DEC
• NYS Environmental Conservation Police
• NYS Fire
• Kent Volunteer Fire Department
• Mahopac Falls Volunteer Fire Department
• Continental Village Volunteer Fire Department
• Yorktown Heights Volunteer Fire Department
• Peekskill Volunteer Ambulance Corps