Ritzville Trucker Dies In Crash

A tractor-trailer rig crashed on a rural road Friday night, killing the driver and spilling an ammonia solution from the truck’s ruptured cargo tank, the Washington State Patrol said.

The truck crashed into a ditch along a Whitman County road outside this town about 50 miles southwest of Spokane, a state patrol dispatcher said. The cab caught fire, and the driver died at the scene.

The truck was the only vehicle involved.

The driver was a 40-year-old Ritzville man, the dispatcher said. His name was being withheld until relatives could be contacted.

The crash ruptured the truck’s tank and caused an ammonia-water solution to spill onto the ground, the dispatcher said. The solution was used for agricultural purposes.

, DataTimes