Tanker crash ties up North Freeway traffic

Another day, another tanker truck crash — this time it was on the North Freeway near Rankin Road, and it still has traffic tied up hours later.

The truck crashed into the side of the highway at about 1 a.m. today, police say, spilling about 9,000 gallons of gasoline. Clean-up crews got the gas off the freeway and pumped what was left out of the tanker, and officials are still trying to figure out why the crash happened. KHOU reports two versions of the story: Police say a driver tried to cut the truck off and the crash happened when the truck swerved, but witnesses say it appeared the driver was asleep at the wheel. Remember, there was a similar accident Monday on Beltway 8 caused by a sleeping driver. Whether or not the two wrecks had the same cause, Houstonist is going to stay away from tanker trucks, just to be on the safe side.