A HazMat fuel spill near Elkins Tuesday morning, took a bizarre turn.
The Elkins Fire Department was called to the scene around 4:30a.m. Tuesday for a diesel spill. The Fayetteville Fire Department and HazMat crew made their way to the town of Durham, to assist in the cleanup.
When crews arrived, they found a 300 gallon diesel tank in a ditch along Highway 16.
"Approximately two-thirds of the contents of the tank leaked out into the ditch. We dammed it up with dirt and booms and pads and oil dry," said Elkins Fire Chief JD DeMotte.
Responders temporarily shut down the westbound lane of the highway, while they worked to remove the remaining fuel from the ditch.
"As cold as it is, it's pretty sluggish and it's down in the ditch so the flashpoint is pretty low... Not a lot of danger right now."
While on scene, Chief DeMotte learned there was an interesting twist to the story.
"A local farm had a trailer stolen, that had a 300 gallon diesel tank full of diesel on it... The guys working at the farm were coming to work and they seen him leaving out of the farm with it... It came lose from the truck that stole it, when it crossed the bridge here the trailer went into the ditch, ruptured the tank, spilling the diesel fuel out into the ditch."
A failed attempt to steal a diesel tank, ended in a slow start for some early morning commuters.
Crews will be taking the fuel to a landfill to dispose of it properly.
Two people are under arrest in connection with the theft of the tank.
22-year-old Anthony Stobaugh of Rogers and 23-year-old Daisy Bohannan from Elkins each face felony theft of property charges and misdemeanors of criminal mischief and criminal trespassing.
Anthony Stobaugh Daisy Bohannan
According to arrest reports, they were caught when an officer returned to the scene of the spill to investigate further and heard them starting up a diesel vehicle that matched the description of the one that took the trailer.
In the area where the trailer was stolen, police found shoe imprints matching those worn by Stobaugh.
Bohannan and Stobaugh were both charged with theft of property for the trailer the diesel tank and the diesel fuel inside the tank.
