JOHN O'CONNOR and COLLEEN SLEVINTwo kids are among five people dead after a semi crash, which caused an anhydrous ammonia leak and prompted a Teutopolis evacuation.Five people were killed and five were seriously injured after a truck overturned in central Illinois, causing a toxic substance to leak from its cargo and forcing the evacuation of hundreds of area residents, authorities said Saturday.
Emergency crews worked overnight after the accident on Friday trying to control the plume from the leak and struggled to get near the crash site. Private and federal environmental contractors were summoned to recommend a cleanup procedure in Teutopolis, a town of 1,600 about 110 miles northeast of St. Louis.
Traffic, including the tanker, was pushed onto U.S. 40, which bisects Teutopolis, earlier Friday because of another truck crash on Interstate 70. Anhydrous ammonia is used by farmers to add nitrogen fertilizer to the soil and as a refrigerant in the cooling systems of large buildings such as warehouses and factories. According to the American Chemical Society, it is carried around the United States by pipeline, trucks and trains.