Calls still coming on turnpike goo incident [The Pittsburgh Tribune-Review]

Nov. 29--As more complaints trickled in on Monday from motorists reporting vehicle damage from a 40-mile asphalt spill on the Pennsylvania Turnpike, authorities continued to investigate the bizarre incident.

"Calls have significantly slowed down," turnpike spokesman Carl DeFebo said.

As of yesterday afternoon, 464 motorists reported to the agency that their vehicles were damaged a week ago when a tanker truck's leaking valve spread gooey roofing asphalt over eastbound lanes of the highway between the New Castle exit in Beaver County and the Oakmont service plaza, DeFebo said.

The sticky black gunk stuck to tires and coated undercarriages, disabling many vehicles. Many motorists were traveling for the Thanksgiving holiday.

DeFebo said the number of affected motorists might be higher, because some might have reported damage to insurance companies without calling the turnpike. Travelers Insurance, the trucking company's insurer, did not return calls yesterday.

State police Cpl. Mike Corna of the Gibsonia station, which patrols the turnpike, said police had not filed charges against the truck driver, identified as George Delaney, 50, of Glen Burnie, Md. Corna said Delaney, who could not be reached, is likely to be cited with a summary count of failing to secure a load in vehicles. Other charges are possible.

Delaney was driving for Marino Transportation Services, or MTS Transport, of Stevensville, Md., which did not return calls. The company issued a statement saying it is "continuing our investigation as to the cause of the leak."

Corna said Delaney picked up more than 4,000 gallons of roofing asphalt in the Canton, Ohio, area and was driving to Maryland. There were no reports of leaked goo between Canton and where the truck entered the turnpike.

"I've been in this business 40 years and I've never heard of anything like that," Pennsylvania Trucking Association President Jim Runk said.

John Conley, president of the National Tank Truck Carriers in Arlington, Va., agreed and said such incidents are so uncommon that further regulations -- such as requiring tanker trucks to be equipped with sensors that would alert drivers of a leak -- are "probably unnecessary."

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