ARLINGTON — Residents from about 20 homes evacuated overnight due to a leaky propane truck northwest of Arlington were allowed to go home Friday afternoon.
The overturned truck was lifted and the leak stopped by 11:40 a.m. Friday, Snohomish County Sheriff’s Office spokeswoman Jan Jorgensen said.
"It’s been a long night for them and most of them were really anxious to get home," she said.
Residents living a half-mile south and west of the accident in the 2700 block of Stanwood-Bryant Road NE were evacuated to Fire Station 90 in Bryant. The road was open by 3 p.m. Friday, Jorgensen said.
The propane truck rolled over early Thursday morning, causing a small leak. That was quickly stopped, but a valve broke at 1 p.m. Thursday when a crew tried to right the truck.
The truck held more than 1,200 gallons of propane when the valve broke. The liquid propane turned into a plume of volatile gas when it hit the air.
The crew determined it was unsafe to repair the leak in the dark.
Firefighters stayed at the site of the accident overnight to monitor the leak. No one was hurt by the gas.
The driver of the propane truck, Tim Delaney of Lake Stevens, suffered a concussion and two puncture wounds in his left hand from the crash, said his wife, Dawn Delaney. He’ll need surgery to repair tendons in his hand, she said.
Tim Delaney was driving for Enviro Propane of Arlington.
"He mentioned that the last thing he remembered was a car swerving in front of him," Dawn Delaney said. "He’s lucky it didn’t explode."
The cause of the crash still is under investigation, Jorgensen said.
Reporter Katherine Schiffner: 425-339-3436 or
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