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Part of Northwest Highway will be closed overnight

A road in Crystal Lake was closed Thursday and Northwest Highway in Barrington remained closed through Thursday night while cleanup continued from a chemical spill crash in Barrington Tuesday night, officials said.

The incident started when a semitrailer carrying 3,000 pounds of a compound used in the production of polyurethane rear-ended a pickup truck at 11:29 p.m. Tuesday in the westbound lanes at Northwest Highway's intersection with Hart Road, authorities said.

The crash caused the chemical to ignite, resulting in heavy fire, some explosions, and the road to be shut down.

A secondary site, where the vehicles involved in the crash were towed, also required extensive cleanup. Police closed Eastgate Road in Crystal Lake between Factory and Commercial roads, and it will remain closed indefinitely, officials said late Thursday afternoon.

Authorities said the truck driver reported the truck was carrying vegetable oil, but the company the driver worked for later informed village officials of the true nature of the spilled substance, Barrington spokeswoman Patty Dowd Schmitz said.

The compound - called methylene diphenyl diisocyanate - is characterized as an allergen and irritant rather than a more toxic substance, but it did require a more intense cleanup than vegetable oil, Schmitz said.

The two crashed vehicles were taken to Whitey's Towing at 710 Eastgate Road. Two other nearby buildings at 6096 Commercial Street and 6105 Factory Road are also closed until the remediation at their sites is complete.

Officials from the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency said Wednesday night that there was "no risk to the water supply or to the public at this time. There is no immediate risk, no warnings, and no advisories."

The driver, 35, and passenger, 49, of the pickup were treated at Advocate Good Shepherd Hospital near Lake Barrington. Their injuries were a result of the collision, not the fire, and they were released Wednesday morning after treatment, police said.

The semitrailer driver was treated at the scene. He was issued a citation for failure to reduce speed to avoid an accident, police said.

Schmitz said it was undetermined whether the village would pursue any action regarding the initial misinformation about the nature of the leaked chemical.

Bob Chwedyk/bchwedyk@dailyherald.comCrews clean up at the crash scene on Northwest Hwy. just west of Hart Rd. in Barrington.
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