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Insurer Ordered To Pay Sticky Turnpike Spill Claims Against Md. Trucking Company

STEVENSVILLE, Md. (AP/WJZ) —A federal judge says a Maryland-based trucking company's insurer must cover some of the claims associated with the spill of a sticky goo over a 40-mile stretch of the Pennsylvania Turnpike last year.

At the height of the Thanksgiving travel rush in the middle of a heavy rainstorm, as many as 300 vehicles got stuck in a dark, dangerous goo that caused widespread damage.

The driver, 50-year-old George Delaney of Glen Burnie, received two citations for failing to secure a load and failure to obey a state trooper.

The trooper says after he pulled Delaney over, he ordered the truck stay at a service area until it could be inspected. But the next morning, Delaney and the truck were gone.

 The harm it caused was not.
The tanker hauling asphalt flux spilled the substance over a long stretch of the turnpike in western Pennsylvania, from New Castle to Oakmont. An estimated 1,000 vehicles were damaged by the tar-like goo.

U.S. District Judge Joy Flowers Conti said Friday Hallmark Specialty Insurance Company must pay for all non-pollution related claims against MTS Transport over the Nov. 22 spill that hampered Thanksgiving travel plans for many motorists.

The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette  reports MTS, of Stevensville, Md., said a $1 million insurance plan wasn't enough to cover all the claims and Hallmark had refused to pay out on a $4 million excess liability policy.
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(Copyright 2012 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

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