Driver ticketed after tanker crash

A Sycamore woman's inattentive driving was to blame for a fuel-tanker crash that shut down Route 38 in St. Charles for five hours Tuesday, police said.

Robin S. Van, 44, was driving west in a pickup truck near Peck Road about 11:30 a.m. when she drifted into an oncoming lane of traffic, forcing the eastbound tanker truck to swerve off the highway, blow a tire and overturn in a culvert, police said Wednesday. Van, of 953 W. State St., was ticketed Wednesday for inattentive driving and improper lane use.

The one-vehicle crash prompted a hazardous materials investigation when diesel fuel and gasoline was spilled about the roadway.

Motorists were diverted around the scene for about five hours, from lunchtime to rush hour, until the fuel and tanker could be removed.

The tanker driver, Gary K. Long, 53, of Elburn, was treated at Delnor-Community Hospital in Geneva for minor injuries and was released, police said.