Iowa police have released additional information about a fuel tanker crash that forced multiple people to evacuate their homes on Thursday.
Tanker Crashes Into Home, Forces Evacuations
The crash occurred around 6:45 a.m. on Thursday when a fuel tanker rolled over and plowed into a home in a residential area in Waterloo, Iowa.
Fuel tanker crashes into Waterloo home following disturbance at fuel facility https://t.co/zCTD57ElJK pic.twitter.com/Cze7GPet7W
— Q-C Times Iowa news (@QCTIowa) August 20, 2020
The person who crashed the truck had to be extricated by the Waterloo Fire Department. He was then taken to the hospital for treatment.
A person who was inside the home when the crash occurred was unhurt.
Due to a major fuel spill, an evacuation order was put in place by emergency management officials for the nearby homes.
Police Release More Information On Events Leading Up To Crash
As the cleanup and investigation continued, police were able to release new information about the bizarre events leading up to the tanker crash.
According to local news outlet the Globe Gazette, police had been called to the Kwik Star/Kwik Trip fuel facility around 6:30 a.m. on Thursday after a person driving a vehicle crashed through the fence at the facility.
A driver at the facility pulling a tanker full of fuel stopped to check on the person in the crashed vehicle. The man from the crashed vehicle then took off in the fuel tanker.
A different report from KCRG describes the person as a “psychiatric patient” spotted running naked in a parking lot before taking the tanker.
Yet another local news outlet, KWWL, reports that the man was also spotted nude behind the wheel and was “pumping his fists” as he drove.
NEW DETAILS: Police records show what occurred before the tanker trucker struck a home in Waterloo yesterday. The driver has not yet been identified. https://t.co/Zg66hRLRM8
— KWWL (@KWWL) August 21, 2020
Shortly before the crash into the house occurred, police were already looking for the tanker due to these disturbances.
Police say that the man was at times driving at speeds of 70 m.p.h. and swerved into oncoming traffic to avoid cars stopped at the intersection of Hammond Avenue and Ridgeway Avenue.
While passing through the intersection, the tanker collided with a vehicle also in the intersection. This caused him to lose control, crash into at least two additional vehicles, then into the home.
The man is reportedly facing charges including reckless driving and incendiary explosive violations.