ROSS COUNTY, Ohio — A tractor-trailer accident turned into a hazmat scare late Friday evening.
The Ohio Highway Patrol, along with fire and rescue, responded to the area of route 23 for a semi-rollover accident near Chillicothe.
Multiple crews responded to the scene shortly after 11 p.m. Both northbound lanes of the highway were shut down following the crash for nearly five hours, troopers said.
The Ohio Department of Transportation requested a hazmat crew to the scene. All northbound traffic, reports say, was diverted to the Main Street exit.
According to initial reports from rescue personnel at the time, a semi hauling unknown chemicals crashed near mile marker 13 close to the route 23 and route 35 split.
The driver of the semi — Oumaru Sheriff, 30, of Hamden, Connecticut — transported to Adena Regional Medical Center. He was not seriously hurt.
Motorists were advised to avoid the area. The highway, officials said, was closed for five hours to clear up the mess.
UPDATE: Authorities say, paperwork was eventually located inside the wrecked semi showing the chemicals being transported were nonhazardous, and only posed a “mild inhalation risk.”