Driver Ran From His Overturned Asbestos Truck

Exactly what every other driver wants: A truck carrying asbestos to overturn, spill its contents, and its driver running away from the scene. That's what happened yesterday afternoon with an asbestos truck on the Clearview Expressway hit a divided and flipped over.

The truck was not a closed truck - it was an 18-wheeler covered with a tarp. Naturally, traffic was delayed for hours (12) as the Department of Environment Protection's cleanup crews worked to contain the scene.

The driver, Artur Gaskaa, was arrested in Pennsylvania (!) and Fox 5 reported that investigators want to know why he was transporting asbestos, "why he ran and where he was going." One fire official who spoke to the Daily News suspected Gaska may have been illegally dumping the toxic material, "Why else would the driver run away?"

Here's the Health Department's fact sheet on asbestos: "Typically, asbestos has no immediate health effects. It is not known to cause allergies or skin problems."