Overturned fuel truck closes Spaulding Turnpike for hours

Mar. 19—A crash involving an overturned fuel truck sent the driver to the hospital and closed the Spaulding Turnpike in Dover for hours Monday evening.

New Hampshire State Police said the crash happened just before 5:30 p.m. on the northbound side of the turnpike when Andrew McKenzie, 65, of New Durham, lost control of the tanker truck he was driving. The vehicle went off the right shoulder, veered back into the roadway and then overturned in the middle of the turnpike.

McKenzie was taken to the hospital with injuries that police said were not life-threatening.

Diesel fuel leaked from the crashed truck onto the road and the shoulder of the highway, police said. Debris from the crash also caused minor damage to another vehicle.

The entire northbound side of the road was closed at Exit 9 for about three hours, and the right travel and breakdown lanes remained closed after that during the cleanup.

State police said the initial investigation determined that the fuel truck apparently had a mechanical issue that caused McKenzie to lose control.

Assisting state police at the scene were Dover police, Dover and Rochester fire personnel, Rochester Truck, and the state Department of Transportation and Department of Environmental Services.

Authorities are asking anyone with information about the crash to email state police investigators: Jonathan.D.Minnich@dos.nh.gov or Matthew.Bailey@dos.nh.gov.