Saturday accident, isopropyl spill closes I-10 East for hours

State police were forced to close both lanes of Interstate 10 in Acadia Parish Saturday night, after an accident involving a pickup truck and an 18-wheeler resulted in isopropyl alcohol being spilled.

“At approximately 4:35 p.m. Saturday, a pickup truck was sideswiped by another vehicle and crossed the median, striking an 18-wheeler,” said Trooper Brooks David with the State Police  Troop I. “The driver of the 18-wheeler tried to avoid the accident but was unsuccessful.”

The 18-wheeler was carrying the highly flammable isopropyl alcohol which spilled into the median near mile marker 78.

“Because it is a flammable we had to shut down the east and west bound lanes of Interstate 10,” said David.

The westbound lane was closed for a short time immediately following the accident and was reopened to aid the traffic flow. It was closed again hours later during the cleanup operations.

The eastbound lane was closed from 4:35 p.m. Saturday until 7 a.m. Sunday.

U.S. Highway 90 and U.S. Highway 98 saw a big influx of traffic and both roadways were backed up during the closure.