Overturned septic truck makes a mess on Route 9

Above: A passing motorist snapped this photo of the accident scene (contributed photo)

Many of you were caught in a traffic mess when a spetic truck overturned on Route 9 last night, but the real mess was the tank’s leaking contents. The Metrowest Daily News reports raw sewage made its way into drains that lead to wetlands.

(Neal Aspesi of the Southborough Fire Department) said the Northborough Septic Service Truck contained about 4,000 gallons of raw sewage, half of which spilled out after the truck flipped shortly after 3 p.m. The truck driver was not hurt. Another Northborough Septic Service truck was brought in to pump out the sewage remaining in the overturned tanker.

Police were investigating what caused the crash, Aspesi said, adding that the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection and the Massachusetts Water Resources Authority were called to the scene. Aspesi added that the nature of the accident made him think it was a Board of Health issue.

The accident, which happened in front of the old Verizon building (now the Bartlett Distribution Center), snarled traffic during the evening commute. According to traffic reports, Route 9 westbound was backed up almost to the Framingham line. Outlets like Cordaville Road (Route 85) were also backed up presumably as commuters tried to find alternate routes.

There is no word yet on what caused the accident, but the MWDN reports some on scene think the truck may have swerved to avoid another car. You can read more – and see some photos of the accident – in this article by the MWDN.