Motor City in Colorado Springs reopens Friday after fuel spill

An area of auto dealerships and related businesses reopened Friday afternoon, more than nine hours after an overturned tanker spilled thousands of gallons of gasoline and diesel fuel.

The spill happened around 4 a.m. on Motor City Drive in front of the Suss Superstore on Motor City Drive in south Colorado Springs.

“I was parked behind him,” said a delivery driver who witnessed the crash. “He went around a curve and was going too fast.”

Authorities cited speed as an apparent factor.

The tanker flipped after striking a parked, unoccupied vehicle, authorities said, and slid into a curb, spilling fuel from ruptured compartments inside the tanker.

Authorities said when they arrived, fuel was draining into the stormwater system through a nearby storm drain.

Part of Motor City Drive was closed because of the risk of explosions.

“We think the tanker was holding 8,000 gallons and the cleanup crew recovered around 1,000 gallons,” said Capt. Steve Wilch of the Colorado Springs Fire Department. “Some, but not all, of the fuel drained into Fountain Creek.”

Several private contractors, financed by the owner of the overturned tanker, contained as much of the spill as possible and removed it from the scene.

Wilch said the driver was taken to Memorial Hospital in stable condition. His name hadn’t been released as of late Friday night.

A coalition of local, state and federal officials are involved in testing the water in Fountain Creek for the presence of fuel, and taking measures to contain it if found.

Authorities patrolled the creek from the spill site to Fountain and alerted municipalities as far south as Pueblo, warning people to stay away from the creek.

As of late Friday night, there was no word of any fuel being found.

“There are catchment basins within the stormwater system, said Chief Ted Collas of the Colorado Springs Fire Department. “So we’ll have to see how much can be pumped out of that, to know how much was contained and how much was ultimately released.”

The accident forced the closure of many Motor City businesses until the street reopened around 1:15 Friday afternoon.

“I came here to have an appointment for the recall service on my car and everything was closed,” said Fanc Chu. “I’ll have to make an appointment again. It’s kind of not good. I waited three weeks for that appointment.”

Some dealerships closed entirely, with not even clerks at desks or mechanics in garages. Others, like Heuberger Motors, tried to help customers from the parking lot and along part of the detour.

“We’ve lost a half a day,” said Mike Jorgensen, owner of Red Noland Cadillac. “You don’t get those back, especially going into the weekend. People wanted to get out of town and maybe have a few things done to their car, or get a new car for a weekend trip. So we’re going to be scrambling (Friday) afternoon and it’s going to put a little more pressure on (Saturday).”