Propane Truck Collision Closes Hwy. 42, Draws Large Emergency Response

A section of Highway 42 south of Carlsville near West Townline Road was closed for four and half hours Tuesday after a propane delivery truck and cargo van crashed. Door County Sheriff Office photo.

A collision of a cargo van and propane delivery truck – with spillage of oil, gasoline and a small amount of propane – at 11:46 am Tuesday south of Carlsville caused the closure of state Highway 42 until 4:15 pm.

Emergency responders – including Egg Harbor and Sturgeon Bay firefighters, Door County Sheriff’s Office, Door County EMS and Door County Emergency Management – responded to the crash, and Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources personnel briefly showed up at the scene.

Neither driver needed to be transported to a hospital, but emergency crews extricated the cargo van driver from a vehicle, said Jeb Saelens, Door County Emergency Management Director. 

Saelens said a paramedic happened to be near the scene and quickly started rerouting traffic.

The deputies and the fire department blocked roadways, and the county highway department set up a detour.

Saelens said the Milton propane delivery driver had knowledge that helped emergency responders handle the situation. The tank of the truck did not leak, Saelens said. 

Egg Harbor Fire Chief Justin MacDonald said propane leaked from the 1-inch fill line that’s pressurized and kept ready for filling tanks for residences and businesses. MacDonald said he’s not sure how many hundred feet of line there were or exactly how much propane leaked, because liquid propane becomes airborne and eventually dissipates when it meets the air.

Saelens said the responders were moved a half mile downwind from the scene, and they moved away 300 feet in the other directions as the propane finished leaking out.

A heavy-duty tow truck operator uprighted the propane truck and towed it away. The detour remained in place during cleanup.

Emergency crews sent photos and described the situation to the area’s Green Bay-based hazardous materials team, who OK’d plans to soak up gasoline and oil that leaked from the vehicles. 

Egg Harbor Fire Department put down oil-dry material, and when some residue remained, the highway department spread sand and removed that, Saelens said.

The crash report had not been completed at press time, Door County Chief Deputy Pat McCarty said.