Bait truck slips off pier, fuel leaks into harbor

CUTLER – A bait truck slid off a pier Thursday, releasing an undetermined amount of diesel fuel into Cutler Harbor.

Marine Patrol Officer Russell Wright said the driver for Coffin’s Bait of Jonesboro had backed the truck down onto the Cates pier off Route 191 and was unloading his cargo when the brakes let go.

The truck jackknifed and slid down an embankment, rupturing the fuel tank. Wright said some of the leaking fuel was salvaged, but the remainder was swept into the head of the harbor by strong south to southeast winds. Wright said the driver didn’t know how much fuel was in the truck at the time of the accident, but it does not appear that the fuel caused any environmental damage.

Cutler Fire Chief Joel Weaver said his department responded to the accident, but the oil had spread and the department doesn’t have an oil containment boom.

Washington County Emergency Management Director Paul Thompson said the state Department of Environmental Protection was notified. The staffer from the department was on his way to the scene Thursday afternoon.