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A tanker truck hauling approximately 79,000 pounds of milk turned over on its side in the west ditch of South Lakeshore Road (M-25), in front of the Sanilac County Historical Museum. The one-vehicle accident occurred Sunday at around 5:30 a.m.

The driver, Craig Sheridan, 38, of Deckerville told sheriff's deputies he was traveling south when he tried to avoid a northbound car in his lane. He lost control of the truck and over in the ditch.

Sheridan got out of the truck on his own, and was sitting on the cab when rescue crews arrived, said Port Sanilac Fire Chief Jack Willis. He was transported to McKenzie Memorial Hospital and later transferred to a Saginaw hospital for unknown injuries.

"The truck was about totaled out," said Willis. "There was just a mess. The lid on the top opened and about half of the load was running down (storm sewers and ditches). Some went into the lake."

Firemen blocked the ditches with sand hauled to the scene by village DPW workers, in an attempt to stop the mixture of milk and diesel fuel from the truck entering Lake Huron, said Sgt. Robert Willis of the Sanilac County Sheriff Department.

The road was shutdown and traffic rerouted for approximately five hours during the investigation and cleanup.

The Michigan Department of Environmental Quality was notified and an investigator was sent to the scene to supervise the cleanup. An environmental cleanup crew was also dispatched from the Saginaw area with special equipment to remove contaminants. Port Sanilac police and the director of county emergency management also assisted at the scene.

The tanker and truck were removed after the remaining milk was transferred to another tanker.

Firemen cleared the scene around 3:30 p.m., just in time for another assignment.

Willis said the department was sent to a grass fire on Deckerville Road that took about an hour to extinguish.