The driver, Gordon Duane Thompson, 51, of Renwick, was transported to UnityPoint Health — Trinity Regional Medical Center after being extracted from the cab by Harcourt and Gowrie firefighters.

The Region V Hazardous Materials Response Team operated by the Fort Dodge Fire Department was called to the scene to deal with any potential propane leaks and leaking diesel fuel. The truck, a 2012 Peterbilt owned by MS & Sons Corp., of Humboldt, was reported to be nearly empty of propane.

When crews arrived, they found the accident had knocked a valve partially open.

Fort Dodge Fire Chief Steve Hergenreter said it was quickly dealt with.

-Messenger photo by Hans Madsen
Gowrie and Harcourt firefighters remove the injured driver of a propane tanker that overturned Friday morning on Iowa Highway 175 west of Harcourt. The accident closed a section of the highway for about four hours.

“We stopped the propane leak,” he said. “You could smell the propane.”

The sides of the tank were scraped and damaged in the accident, he said. His crew remained on the scene to make sure the truck was set upright safely by towing crews.

“It’s still a pressurized vessel,” he said. “We’re going to take it nice and slow.”

In addition, the truck was slowly leaking diesel fuel from one tank. Crews drilled holes in the fuel tanks and pumped the remaining fuel out. Hergenreter said there were about 200 gallons on board that had to be pumped.

According to the Iowa State Patrol accident report, a witness said the truck was eastbound when the semi dropped off the edge of the highway. The driver then over corrected and the truck jackknifed. The resulting rotation caused the trailer to flip itself and the semi on its side. The truck ended up in the south ditch.

-Messenger photo by Hans Madsen
Fort Dodge firefighter Andy Midtling looks over a propane tanker that overturned Friday morning west of Harcourt on Iowa Highway 175.

The accident, which was reported at 10:33 a.m., resulted in a mile of Iowa Highway 175 being closed for nearly four hours. The road was reopened at 2:11 p.m.

Iowa Department of Transportation crews detoured traffic around the scene.

The Iowa State Patrol, Webster County Sheriff’s Department, Harcourt and Gowrie firefighters, Southwest Webster Emergency Medical Service, Webster County Emergency Management Coordinator Dylan Hagen and the regional hazardous materials team responded to the accident.

-Messenger photo by Hans Madsen
Fort Dodge firefighters Kenny Moen, right, along with Dan Summers, work on draining diesel fuel from a propane tanker that rolled over Friday morning about a mile west of Harcourt on Iowa Highway 175.

-Messenger photo by Hans Madsen
The propane tanker ended up in the south ditch after the driver lost control going east on Iowa Highway 175 west of Harcourt Friday morning.