Diesel truck rollover on Highway 427 near Pearson causing significant spill and road closure

A truck containing tens of thousands of litres of diesel rolled over on Highway 427 near Toronto Pearson Airport, causing a significant spill and road closure Tuesday afternoon.

Ontario Provincial Police say all northbound lanes on Highway 427 at Highway 401 are closed due to the collision.

“It is on its side, it is actively leaking, the driver is out of the truck without serious injuries, but at this point we are not able to contain the leak of the diesel,” OPP Sgt. Kerry Schmidt told CP24.

Schmidt said the fire department is working to absorb the diesel with sponges to halt the flow of the liquid, but the spill is rushing towards the elevation at the shoulder of the roadway facing Highway 401 westbound.

“They cannot stop it without the truck being up righted and they cannot stop it in the way the vehicle has come to rest so, certainly it's fluid and ongoing, and we're just trying to understand exactly what the next steps are going to be.”