Tanker roll-over closes Highway 13 in Spencer

The northbound lanes of Highway 13 in the village of Spencer were closed down for more than five hours on Monday as crews worked to remove a milk semi tanker truck that rolled onto its side.

At approximately 10:15 Monday morning, the truck driven by 46-year-old Vincent Baum of Shiocton was attempting to turn north onto Highway 13 from Willow Drive. As he rounded the intersection at a relatively low speed, the truck rolled over onto its right side on the boulevard in front of the McNeely Financial Services building.

“I think his load shifted somehow and caused it to roll over on its side,” said Spencer Police Chief Shawn Bauer. “We don’t think speed was a factor.”

The tanker was between half and three-fourths filled with milk, Bauer said. After the truck turned over, some of the milk began leaking out through a top hatch, and was contained along the street. Spencer firefighters used 5-gallon buckets to catch the leaking milk and kept it contained.

The fire department used its Jaws of Life apparatus to cut the top of the truck’s cab off to extricate Baum. He was transported to Marshfield for treatment of non life-threatening injuries.

Due to the weight of the load still in the tanker, Bauer said large wrecker trucks with specialized equipment were called in from Wisconsin Rapids, Marshfield and Wausau. The northbound lanes of Highway 13 at Willow Drive were closed to traffic for more than five hours as the trucks maneuvered to get the truck back on its wheels. Bauer said the police department finally cleared the scene at 3:30 p.m.

DEAN LESAR/STAFF PHOTO