A ‘large truck’ that caused Hobart commuters to ‘slip and slide’ on roads across the city yesterday is now the target of a police search.
Inspector John Toohey told ABC Radio that, so far, Police have been unable to identify the truck which is only described as being ‘large’.
He said the spill ‘doesn’t appear to be a criminal act’, but rather a mechanical problem.
“It appears to be a mechanical problem and it doesn’t mean that oil is free flowing, gushing out of the truck which can be visible to some people,” Toohey said.
“So it may be just a small amount of oil that should continuously flowed out of the vehicle which has caused the chaos on the road yesterday during that period.”
Toohey said as the incident is not a criminal matter, fines may not be issued, however if the truck is found to have defects “there can be some fines in relation to that”.
Anyone with information on the truck, which spilt oil for over 40km between Kingston and Brighton, is encouraged to contact Police.
Multiple crashes after major 40km+ Hobart oil spill
A major oil spill that stretches for over 40km along some of Hobart’s busiest roads has led to several crashes this morning.
Police are asking anyone who does not need to be on the road to ‘reconsider their need to travel’, with oil stretching from the Southern Outlet to the Midland Highway.
Starting on the Outlet about 2km before Mt Nelson (city bound), the spill continues to Macquarie Street, along the Brooker Highway to the Risdon Road area, through to Derwent Park Road, out to the Midland Highway, Pontville and to Mangalore.
One motorist told Pulse that despite going ‘very slow’, she lost control of her vehicle at the Bridgewater bridge roundabout and crashed into the guard rail.
“Luckily a man in a truck pulled up behind me to check on me,” she said.
“He said the same thing happened to him about 30 minutes earlier and he blocked off the road a bit so I [could] take off safely.”
No serious injuries have been reported from any of the crashes at this stage.
