Fuel truck spills 4K gallons at Key West airport

A fuel-truck rollover Tuesday night at Key West International Airport spilled about 4,000 gallons of jet fuel and left the driver charged with careless driving.

At 6:58 p.m., Monroe County’s Aircraft Rescue and Firefighting received a report that jet fuel was leaking from an overturned fuel truck at the general aviation section at the airport off South Roosevelt Boulevard.

Oscar Tijerino, 34 of Stock Island, was also charged with not having a commercial driver’s license while operating a commercial motor vehicle transporting hazardous material.

Tijerino was driving on the ramp within the secure area at the airport when he tried to turn left quickly at a high rate of speed, rolling the truck over onto its right side, said Florida Highway Patrol Lt. Kathleen McKinney. The Signature Flight Support truck has a capacity of 7,000 gallons, said county spokeswoman Cammy Clark

“It was estimated that roughly 4,000 gallons of fuel was spilled onto the ramp within the secure area” of the airport, McKinney said.

“The ARFF crew, which is stationed at the airport, covered the fuel spill with foam and surrounded it with booms for containment,” Clark said.

The incident closed part of the general aviation ramp but did not disrupt commercial flights at the airport. Tijerino was taken to Lower Keys Medical Center, where he was treated and released for minor injuries.

Gwen Filosa: @KeyWestGwen

This story was originally published June 21, 2017 at 5:02 PM with the headline "Fuel truck spills 4K gallons at Key West airport."