No charges to be filed in Rte. 9 truck rollover

AURORA – No charges will be filed stemming from the rollover of a tractor-trailer Monday that closed a section of Route 9 for more than 14 hours.

Officials initially thought imprudent speed on the slippery road might have been a factor in the accident, but Trooper Alden Bustard said Friday no charges were pending against the driver.

The truck was carrying a load of about 49,000 pounds of liquid nitrogen, and authorities initially thought the tanker had sprung a leak. Officials from Air Products in Pennsylvania said the white vapor cloud emitted from the tanker came from a safety valve designed to release pressure in the overturned rig.

The situation was still explosive, Bustard said, and he believes state officials on the scene were justified in closing the road.

The accident occurred at 7:30 a.m. Monday and the road remained closed until 1 a.m. the next day while a crew unloaded, then righted the tractor-trailer.