An update now on the crash yesterday involving a truck carrying hazardous material in Cambria County.
Officials say US Route 22 is still closed almost 24 hours after it occurred.
Stoker Wieczorek heard from residents who live by the crash site.
“We don’t know where this chemical is going, and nobody will tell us what it is…”
Residents, who live near the crash site, say they didn’t know about the chemical incident on US 22 until they saw warnings online.
Route 22 closed to through traffic between the 403 Johnstown exit and Dishong Mountain Road.
The original evacuation zone starting at a 1 mile radius.
“There was really no communication with ourselves or the neighbors really, telling us that we were evacuated. We found out through the news sources and Facebook.”
Both Julie Rowland and Cambria County EMA Director, Art Martynuska say residents are being allowed to go to and from their homes at their own risk but thru traffic is still restricted.
Martynuska says people in the area would have known about the evacuations sooner if they signed up for a new emergency alerts program in our area.
“It’s a program that we use called Code Red. That will allow people to sign up to get notifications in their area of imminent threats, such as the hazmat incident that we had yesterday.”
Rowland says she’s noticing discoloration in surrounding bodies of water despite officials saying that no chemicals were reported in the nearby creek. Have not confirmed if this specific instance is related to the crash.
Officials have confirmed that chemicals in the crash involve organic peroxides which are chemicals used in cleaning products and for things like plastic and rubber manufacturing. They say the Cambria County Sharp Hazmat Team is still assessing all of the chemicals involved.
Officials estimate the Route to be open as early as late tonight, into early tomorrow.
We will continue to follow this story as more details are released.
