photo by: Josie Heimsoth/Journal-World

A crash occurred on Interstate 70 westbound near Lawrence on Wednesday, July 30, 2025.

Updated at 3:08 p.m. Wednesday, July 30

Westbound traffic on Interstate 70 near the North Lawrence exit was backed up for hours Wednesday after a semitrailer went off the road and began leaking molten sulfur.

Lawrence-Douglas County Fire Medical was dispatched to westbound Kansas Turnpike mile marker 205 at 9:59 a.m., according to spokesperson McKenzi Ezell.

Prior to units arriving on the scene, callers reported that a tractor-trailer had gone off the road and into the ditch of the westbound lane. Additional units responded after product from the trailer, later confirmed to be molten sulfur, was reported to be leaking.

At 10:10 a.m., LDCFM crews found the large truck on its side and worked to extricate the driver and a dog from the cab of the vehicle.

The driver was taken to a regional hospital with injuries that were not life-threatening, and the dog remained on scene until the representative of the shipping company arrived, Ezell said.

LDCFM crews remained on the scene Wednesday afternoon as representatives of the shipping company and the Kansas Turnpike Authority worked to clean up the accident scene.

Molten sulfur is used in various industrial processes, such as the production of sulfuric acid, a component in fertilizers, and rubber vulcanization, as well as in the manufacture of detergents and the refining of petroleum.

The left lane of the turnpike was open Wednesday afternoon, but traffic had slowed considerably.