CAMBRIDGE - An official from the trucking company involved in a massive jet fuel spill on Hwy. 401 says the driver was trying to avoid killing someone when his tanker truck flipped.

The truck from Fromet Fuel Carriers, a St. Mary's company, was travelling in the right hand lane of the highway at about 1:30 a.m. on Jan. 13 when the driver saw a car suddenly sitting sideways in front of him - without any lights on.

"It's your worst nightmare come true as a driver. He's trying to avoid T-boning someone and killing them," said Larry McGill, a Fromet Fuel Carriers manager who was among the first on scene at the crash.

"He had little to no warning. All he caught was a little bit of reflection of the rear tail light right before he got to the vehicle."

Not knowing the car was abandoned, the driver swerved to avoid a collision, Wilson said. It had been in another crash just minutes before the truck came along, and the driver had left the vehicle.

The swerving manoeuvre was too sudden for the 70 tonnes of fuel the truck was hauling, causing the tanker to flip and spill 50,000 litres of aviation fuel.

"He didn't want to kill these people," McGill said.

"Unfortunately, this type of vehicle is very hard to manoeuvre in that short amount of time without very serious consequences ... Fuel is a live load. You sway one way, the fuel goes another way."

The spill turned into a major environmental problem, as the fuel dumped into the ditch and ran into Mill Creek, spreading as far downstream as Shade's Mills Conservation Area in Cambridge.

As required by law, Fromet's insurance company is paying the bill for the environmental cleanup operation that's been ongoing since the crash.

The truck driver - an experienced employee certified to haul petroleum and dangerous goods, McGill said - suffered bruises but was back behind the wheel after taking a few days off. He has not been charged in the crash.

Provincial officials, meanwhile, say the cleanup will continue until the contamination is resolved. That includes a long-term plan to remediate the spill site and surface water.

"While we don't have an exact timeline, I can confirm that the cleanup and remediation efforts are ongoing," said Gary Wheeler, a spokesperson for the Ontario Ministry of the Environment, Conservation and Parks.

"Ministry staff remain at the site to oversee and co-ordinate the cleanup, remediation and mitigation efforts to ensure the environmental impacts of the spill are being properly addressed."

As part of the cleanup, water samples in Mill Creek, at the reservoir and from the Grand River are also being tested. Municipal water supplies and private wells have not been affected, officials say.

"To date, the ministry has no evidence of impacts to private wells and based on a preliminary review, no impacts to wells near the spill site are expected," Wheeler said.

The cleanup work began shortly after police called the ministry's 24-hour spills action centre, which sent an inspector to the scene around 3 a.m., he said.

While the impact on Mill Creek's fish populations is not yet known, the ministry said it hasn't found any animals or birds injured by the fuel.

"The ministry has not received or observed any direct evidence of impacted wildlife as a result of the spill," Wheeler said.

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gmercer@therecord.com

Twitter: @MercerRecord