3 teens crash car into ag container, spilling fluid into Tulare Co. orchard
The CHP believe speed and alcohol may have been factors in the crash.
TULARE COUNTY, Calif. (KFSN) -- Three teenagers were hospitalized after crashing into a Tulare County orchard.
The crash happened Tuesday around 11 pm on Avenue 300 north of Exeter.
California Highway Patrol officers said the teens' car veered off the road, hitting an ag chemical container and spilling 1,600 gallons of fluid into the grove.
The three were taken to Kaweah Health Medical Center in Visalia with minor to moderate injuries.
The CHP believe speed and alcohol may have been factors in the crash.
It's believed the liquid that spilled was a petroleum-based product used for weed control. Officials will have to decontaminate the area.
"They don't know for sure. That's what we're assuming right now from the kind of smell it has. The fire department is going to handle that portion, and the highway patrol is going to investigate the collision," said CHP Sgt. Manuel Peregrina.
Several rows of trees will need to be dug up. Crews may have to excavate the contaminated soil.
Authorities determined the scene was safe Wednesday morning.
State officials may inspect the grove later on Wednesday.
