Fuel Oil Tanker Overturns in Manchester Township

The Winter Storm on Wednesday did not accumulate much snow but combined with the other elements it made the roads slippery and that's what led to a fuel oil tanker overturning in Manchester Township.

Police responded to the intersection of Route 571 and Route 70 around 12:00 pm to investigate the motor vehicle crash.

Upon arrival, officers saw a 1986, Ford tanker truck overturned on the passenger side in the southbound lanes of Ridgeway Road and it was leaking fuel oil.

An investigation discovered that the tanker was heading north on Ridgeway Road towards the intersection of Route 70 when the driver lost control of the vehicle and tried to stop suddenly on the slippery, snow covered road surface but overcorrect and crossed into the southbound lanes, hit the concrete curb and overturned.

The leak was quickly addressed by the responding emergency services personnel which helped to prevent any significant impact to the environment.

The driver, identified as 66-year-old, Ronald Schwieters of Beachwood, was transported to Community Medical Center for evaluation and treatment of non-life threatening injuries.

The road was closed for several hours during the investigation and cleanup.

Assisting at the scene were members of the Manchester Volunteer Fire Department, Manchester Volunteer First Aid Squad and Berkeley Hazmat Unit as were members of the Manchester Office of Emergency Management, the Ocean County Road Department, and the Ocean County Health Department.

The investigation into this crash is still ongoing, however, driver error in reacting to poor roadway conditions appears to be a contributing factor.

This crash is being investigated by Sergeant Antonio Elllis and Patrolman Michael Anderson of the department’s Traffic Safety Unit.

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