An 18-wheeler carrying asphalt is on its side after it wrecked and spilled its cargo shortly after 5 Monday night. The wreck at U.S. 61 North and Oak Ridge Road tied up traffic on the four-lane highway for about three hours.

Cleanup crews were still in action this morning after liquid asphalt spilled from a tanker truck that collided with a passenger vehicle on U.S. 61 North Monday evening. One person was hurt.

At about 5 p.m., a southbound Nissan Quest driven by Thomas Lewis, 82, 714 Lake Forest Drive, turned across northbound lanes to enter Oak Ridge Road, formerly Bowie Road, and into the path of the 18-wheeler, said Mississippi Highway Patrol Master Sgt. John Minor.

The driver of the 18-wheeler, Katherine Schrimpsher, 54, 2009 Wildwood, Ardmore, Okla., said she attempted to dodge the Nissan, but was unsuccessful. Her rig struck the front of Lewis'' vehicle, then surged forward, overturned and slid on its passenger side, stopping about 50 yards north of the intersection.

Lewis was taken to River Region Medical Center, where he was listed in good condition this morning. Schrimpsher received medical attention at the scene.

"I did everything I could not to hit him," said Schrimpsher, a second-year driver with Skinner Transportation of Austin, Texas. "There was just nothing I could do once he pulled out in front of me."

Some of Schrimpsher''s 8,000-gallon load spilled onto the highway and into a ditch. Emergency workers were called to the scene and all lanes of traffic on U.S. 61 near the accident were shut down for 30-45 minutes after the wreck. Within an hour, both southbound lanes and one of the northbound lanes were reopened.

Vicksburg Fire Chief Keith Rogers said this morning no other environmental effects were reported in the area.

While assessments were being done, the Culkin Volunteer Fire Department built a dike in the ditch to pool the flow. Culkin Fire Chief Trey Smith said the spot for the dike was chosen due to a nearby drain, which provided a "natural choke point."

Smith said this morning he believes most of the tank emptied after the wreck.

Rogers said the Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality has charge of the cleanup. Due to the liquid''s high temperature, the cleanup crew had to wait until about 9 p.m. to start working.

"Considering the situation, everything went really well," Rogers said. "Everyone did their job and did it well. You couldn''t have asked for much better cooperation."

At 5:58 p.m., another accident occurred on U.S. 61 North, said Warren County Sheriff Martin Pace. A southbound 2006 Chevrolet Monte Carlo, driven by Chadwick Hudson, 31, 110 Melissa Drive, hit a 2002 Pontiac while crossing northbound traffic in order to pull into the parking lot of Super Junior. Travis Arnold, 18, 3650 Warriors Trail, was the driver of the northbound Pontiac.

Pace said Hudson, as well as a 6-year-old occupant of his vehicle and a female passenger of Arnold''s vehicle, were taken to River region. All three were reported to have been treated and released.

Further details of that accident were not available this morning from the Mississippi Highway Patrol.