Bethlehem neighborhood evacuated after tanker truck overturns and spills, authorities say

An overturned tanker truck spilling fuel led to a large evacuation early Thursday morning near West Union Boulevard and Paul Avenue in Bethlehem, authorities said.

Homes were cleared within 1,000 feet of the spill, a Northampton County emergency dispatch supervisor told lehighvalleylive.com. That was soon confirmed by city Emergency Management Coordinator Robert Novatnack, who said the tanker was upside down and partially on a sidewalk off West Union.

Lehigh County dispatch was handling the reverse 9-1-1 calls, the supervisor said.

West Union was closed at Mount Airy Avenue. Portions of Highland Avenue were closed as well.

The injured driver was taken by police to an area hospital, Novatnack said.

While the supervisor said it was a gasoline truck, Novatnack said it was carrying fuel, but he wasn’t sure what kind and didn’t want to speculate. The fuel was running down streets and into storm drains, he added.

The state Department of Environmental Protection was on scene at 5:30 a.m., he said.

Bethlehem police and fire personnel were in charge, the supervisor said. Novatnack praised the quick action of both departments in getting the situation under control and getting people safely away from the hazardous spill.

The crash was reported just after 2 a.m. and the evacuation started about 3:20 a.m., the supervisor said.

People leaving their homes on the 30-degree morning were going to Nitschmann Middle School at West Union and Eighth Avenue, authorities said.

As many as 200 people had arrived by 5:30 at the school, Novatnack said.

The American Red Cross is assisting at the scene and at the school, he said.

There was no timeline for righting the truck or beginning to clean up the spill, Novatnack said well before dawn. The situation was expected to last well into the day, he said.

Nitschmann was in a two-hour delay, according to a call from the Bethlehem Area School District.