Crash Causes Sticky Situation

Police say 31-year-old truck driver Benjamin Oler of Iowa is recovering after the semi-truck he was driving flipped on its side. It happened around 8:20am as Oler was traveling south on Interstate 55 near the Toronto Road exit. Springfield Fire Department officials say no one was seriously injured, and the accident caused quite a sticky situation. Officials say Oler lost control of the truck and it split over a guard rail. Thats what caused the tanker to spill 52,000 pounds of corn syrup all over the road. And it didnt just cause a gooey mess for firefighters who had to use a hose to get the syrup off their shoes. It also caused setbacks for people who had places to go and people to see. Kari Richardson of Springfield says she was on her way to visit her mother, but got tied up in traffic on 1-55. "Yeah, its been back up for a while," says Richardson. She estimates it set her back about 45 minutes. The truck driver had to be extricated from the vehicle. Springfield Fire Department official Bill Gilman says, "It appeared to be minor injuries. Hes been transported to a local hospital." Officials had to call in a crew from Decatur to clean up the sweet mess because the cold water from the fire departments hose just wasnt cutting it. "A lot of hot water is what its going to take... Theres no hazardous material there. Theres no environmental problem that I can see," says Gilman. Officials say it took about two hours to clean up the corn syrup. Meanwhile, traffic on I-55 was reduced from three lanes to one for most of the morning.