2 rescued after truck overturns in South Jersey, multiple agencies responding to fuel spill

Multiple agencies are working to contain a fuel spill in a tributary that feeds the Woodbury Creek after a utility truck crashed on Route 295 in West Deptford, New Jersey, Wednesday morning.

The truck collided with a passenger vehicle in the northbound lanes near Exit 22 just before 7:30 a.m., and overturned off the highway and into the Hessian Run Tributary near West Deptford High School, Gloucester County Emergency Management said.

Two people in the truck ended up submerged in the water, but were rescued by a nearby NJDOT Safety Service Patrol Operator, West Deptford Police and Good Samaritans who stopped to help. According to GCEM, both people were taken to a nearby hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.

As of 10 a.m., one right lane and the right shoulder remain closed.  

However, the crash caused a "significant fuel leak," the emergency management department said on social media. Gloucester County Hazmat crews, along with the West Deptford Fire and Westville Fire departments, have been working to mitigate the effects of the spill.

The United States Coast Guard was notified and is supporting "spill control efforts" as the Woodbury Creek feeds into the Delaware River.

A private environmental cleanup company was also contracted to assist with the cleanup, Gloucester County Emergency Management said.

The New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection and emergency personnel were at the scene Wednesday morning.