Tanker rollover closes road

County Road 45 west of Alexandria was closed for several hours Monday morning after a tanker truck filled with unleaded fuel tipped over on its side.

The accident took place at 5:19 a.m. The road was not reopened until about noon.

The driver of the Western Co-op Transport truck from Montevideo, Todd Anderson, 51, of Alexandria, had to be extricated from the vehicle and was taken to Douglas County Hospital by North Ambulance.

As of Monday afternoon, he was listed in stable condition.

According to Alexandria Fire Chief Shane Schmidt, Anderson had just refueled his truck at Magellan Pipeline in Alexandria and was heading out on his route.

He lost control of the rig on County Road 45 near the entrance to Tastefully Simple, and the tanker tipped onto its side into the ditch on the west side of the road.

A small amount of diesel fuel and gasoline leaked from the tanker, but was cleaned up by a local excavation company, according to the Alexandria Police Department.

Schmidt said the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency, along with West Central Environmental Consultants, a haz-mat team from Morris, were immediately called to the scene of the accident.

Another tanker was called to the scene to take the fuel from Anderson's truck. Other agencies responding to the scene included the Alexandria Police Department, the Alexandria Fire Department, the Douglas County Sheriff's Office and the Minnesota State Patrol.