Kevin Curran 12 News May. 7, 2006 02:32 PM

It could be quite some time before traffic flows smoothly along the only interstate highway that crosses northern Arizona. All eastbound traffic on I-40 has been diverted to Old Route 66 between Seligman and Ash Fork following a fatal accident involving a truck carrying radioactive materials.

Arizona Dept. of Public Safety Officer Tim Mason says two tractor-trailer rigs collided near milepost 131 in Yavapai County just after 7:30 Sunday morning. One of the trucks was a flatbed carrying containers of tools and clothing that had been used in nuclear environments. The cargo was being taken to a radioactive waste disposal facility.

The driver of the truck, 25 year-old Tim Harig, was flow to Kingman Regional Medical Center with serious injuries. His passenger, 55 year-old Jasper Brown, was in the sleeping compartment at the time of the crash and was pronounced dead on the scene. Mason did not know the men’s hometowns.

A DPS hazardous materials team has established a 25-foot perimeter around the truck and is awaiting the arrival of a crew from the Arizona Radiation Agency. Mason says crews cannot move the truck or unload its cargo until experts assess the best ways to handle the nuclear waste products.

Westbound traffic has been unaffected by the accident and clean-up. Mason says the eastbound roadway could remain closed until Monday morning.

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