Two of the region's busiest highways were partially closed Thursday because of separate tractor-trailer crashes.


In Clearfield County, on Interstate 80, traffic was backed up after a crash near exit 90 in Washington Township.

Officials said the crash there happened around 8:30 a.m. A truck started to slow down for a crash further east on I-80, but within seconds another truck rear-ended it and jackknifed.

Jefferson County officials said one truck was hauling steel ante the other was a car carrier. Firefighters said both drivers were taken to the hospital with minor injuries and a car sustained minor damage.

Jefferson County Emergency Management Agency officials said about 100 gallons of diesel fuel spilled. As of noon, crews were working on cleaning up the area and the Department of Environmental Protection was there to make sure everything was OK.


"The only hazard that is posed from it is to the environment and if any of it gets into any waterways. That's why we take precautions right off the bat to stop the flow of it and get it cleaned up as quickly as possible," said Tracy Zents, Jefferson County EMA director.


Also Thursday morning, eastbound travelers on the Pennsylvania Turnpike were detoured off the highway because of a fiery tractor-trailer crash that happened just before 8 a.m.

 
The closure affected a 65-mile eastbound stretch of the turnpike between the exits for Breezewood and Carlisle, from mileposts 161.5 to 226.5. The stretch was reopened around noon.

Officials say the truck transporting cantaloupes caught fire around 4 a.m. in a construction zone near mile marker 219. No injuries were reported.