Spill closes Highway 20 for five hours

A 2-mile section of Highway 20 just west of Crawford was closed for about 5-hours Saturday after a semi hauling acid jackknifed into a ditch.

The Nebraska State Patrol says 60-year old Lavern Peters of Brush, Colorado, was eastbound approaching Crawford a little before 10 am when he lost control of his truck.

Peters told troopers that his trailer with 300-gallons of acid swung around and pulled the semi into the south ditch, where it turned on its side. Peters was wearing his seat belt and escaped injury, but both the tractor and trailer of the semi were totaled.

A hazmat...hazardous materials...team from the company responded and cleaned up the spill. Highway 20 was closed between roughly Crawford and Fort Robinson State Park until about 3 pm by the accident and cleanup.