A tanker truck trailer carrying 40,000 pounds of liquid chocolate rolled over and spilled in the westbound lanes of the I-40 east of Flagstaff Monday morning, the Arizona Department of Public Safety reported.
Some time near 9 a.m., a tanker truck’s trailer detached from the truck and rolled from the slick roads onto its side. The chocolate splashed out from the tanker truck and flowed into the westbound lanes of the highway.
Bart Graves with the Arizona Department of Public Safety explained that the chocolate was being stored in the tanker at 120 degrees. Clean-up crews poured most of the chocolate into the median in order to lighten the trailer’s load and allow a tow truck to haul it away, Graves said.
“The rear of the tanker was badly damaged and we had to make it lighter in order for the tow truck to haul it away,” Graves said.
The roadway was closed for about four hours while the road was cleared. Graves said it was fortunate the incident happened next to an off ramp, allowing officers to divert traffic off the highway.
There were no injuries stemming from the incident and the driver was not cited.
