Overturned truck closes Priest Grade

Highway 120/New Priest Grade Road was closed for several hours Monday after a truck hauling fuel overturned and spilled diesel onto the roadway.

The road reopened at 4 a.m. today.

The truck overturned about a half a mile down Highway 120 from Big Oak Flat. 

The road was closed to all but commercial vehicles. Traffic to and from the Groveland area was re-routed to Old Priest Grade, according to the California Highway Patrol. 

Details on the circumstances of the accident weren’t available as the officer on scene had not returned to the Jamestown  area office to file the incident report, CHP officer Brad Schultz said Monday afternoon. 

Further information was unavailable Tuesday morning. 

The accident was reported at 9:10 a.m. and Cal Fire was called to the scene.

A tow service from Modesto responded and apparently only about 25 gallons of diesel from the saddle tanks had leaked out. The overturned tanker was carrying approximately 8,000 gallons of diesel, according to the California Highway Patrol.