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Jamie DonnellyAcrash on Interstate 10 Tuesday afternoon closed Interstate 10 near Kolb Road and prompted an evacuation following a hazardous material spill, officials said.
The crash happened about 2:45 p.m. near milepost 272 and involved a commercial truck that rolled over and leaked hazardous materials, the Arizona Department of Public Safety said.
The Pima County Department of Environmental Quality said the hazardous material spilled was nitric acid. It was being hauled in liquid form, officials said.
Soon after the crash an emergency alert was issued that told people within one mile of the wreck to shelter in place. The affected area was loosely bound by Kolb and Houghton roads between Valencia and Voyager roads.
According to the Pima County Office of Emergency Management and Tucson Fire, the truck that overturned in the crash spilled a load of nitric acid.
Tucson Fire, Office of Emergency Management, Arizona DPS and the Department of Public Safety's Hazardous Materials Response Unit are working on the response.
First responders are evacuating people near the crash "out of an abundance of caution," according to DPS.
KGUN 9's reporter on the scene says UA Tech Park is currently being evacuated, and sources say Vail Unified School District is cancelling all after-school programs.Accordingto the Arizona Department of Public Safety, the closure is due to a hazmat spill related to the crash.
Tucson Fire is on scene. Authorities say it will be an extensive closure.
Arizona Department of Transportation is reporting that both eastbound and westbound lanes of I-10 are closed near South Kolb Road due to a crash that occurred around 3 p.m.
Drivers should find alternate routes to avoid the closure and related delays.
ADOT says there is no estimated time that the lanes will re-open.
Arizona Department of Public Safety, Tucson Police Department and Tucson Fire Department have ordered the evacuation of a one half mile perimeter around the incident and have directed those outside of the evacuation area but within a mile of the incident to shelter in place.
The Arizona Department of Public Safety says it's investigating a collision involving a truck tractor pulling a box trailer that rolled over in the area of I-10 near Rita Road and was leaking nitric acid.
The unidentified driver of the truck, according to DPS officials, has died.
