By Jennifer Pignolet, The Chronicle-Telegram

SHARON TWP. — A 75-year-old LaGrange business owner died Monday when the tanker truck he was driving crashed on Beach Road, catching the cab of the truck on fire and releasing anhydrous ammonia from the tanker into the air.

Philip Linden, 75, of LaGrange, was driving the 2005 Mack truck and died in the accident. He was the owner of Linden Propane.

The tanker belonged to Linden Propane Inc., a LaGrange-based supplier of propane and anhydrous ammonia.

Sharon Township Fire Chief Robert Haas said the official cause of death has not been determined, but that the driver appears to have died on impact and was ejected from the cab of the vehicle.

Haas said the leak spurred the evacuation of 20 homes for nearly 12 hours, but it was sealed before anyone was injured by the chemical.

Anhydrous ammonia is a chemical commonly used as farming fertilizer, Haas said. It is stored as a liquid under pressure, but becomes a toxic gas when released into the atmosphere. The corrosive gas can cause respiratory injuries and burn the skin and eyes. In high concentrations, it can be deadly, according to a U.S. Environmental Protection Agency report.

The tanker was carrying 6,000 gallons of anhydrous ammonia to a Sharon Township farm, according to the fire department. Last month, about 275 people attended a meeting at Sharon Elementary School to voice concerns about the 12,000-gallon anhydrous ammonia tank approved for South Springs Farm.

Lt. Joshua Swindell of the Ohio Highway Patrol said his unit will conduct the investigation into the cause of the accident.
Haas said the truck appeared to roll off the road into trees in the front yard of a house just after noon.

Residents reported smelling ammonia just after the accident, although Haas said he personally never smelled it.

“You can smell this product at three parts per million, and it becomes dangerous at 300 parts per million, and we were nowhere near that, I do not believe,” Haas said.

The day’s temperatures, which reached highs of more than 90 degrees, affected the fire department’s course of action in cleaning up the accident. Water had to be sprayed on the tank to keep it cool while decisions were made about how to right the truck and unload the product.

Haas said the evacuated residents were expected to be back in their homes 11:30 p.m. Monday night.

Contact Jennifer Pignolet at (330) 721-4063 or jpignolet@medina-gazette.com.

---

Print this story
Report an inappropriate comment

---

In order to comment, you must agree to our user agreement and discussion guidelines.

Need help? Email Us.

---