River of chocolate blocks traffic on Arizona highway after tanker carrying 40,000 pounds overturns: Authorities

Cleanup crews had to drain the remaining chocolate to upright the tanker.

January 14, 2019, 6:15 PM

Willy Wonka's Chocolate Factory isn't the only place to house a river of chocolate.

A section of Interstate 40 near Flagstaff, Arizona, was covered in the cocoa confection after a tanker trailer carrying more than 40,000 pounds of the liquid overturned Monday morning around 9 a.m., Arizona Department of Public Safety Public Information Officer Bart Graves told ABC News.

The truck originated in Ontario, Canada, and was headed to Henderson, Nevada, Graves said. Authorities believe the tanker overturned after the latch between truck and the trailer became unsecured and the trailer became separated from the truck, Graves said.

PHOTO: Interstate 40 near Flagstaff, Ariz., was covered in a river of chocolate after a tanker trailer overturned in the morning of Jan. 14, 2019.
Interstate 40 near Flagstaff, Ariz., was covered in a river of chocolate after a tanker trailer overturned in the morning of Jan. 14, 2019.
Arizona Dept. of Public Safety

Thousands of gallons of chocolate then spilled into the roadway and cleanup crews had to empty out the remaining contents from the trailer so they could lift it upright and tow it with a heavy-duty tow truck, Graves said.

Officials also shut down westbound lanes on Interstate 40 for about four hours, but the accident happened just beyond an off-ramp, so authorities were able to re-route traffic from there, Graves said.

No one was injured in the accident, but a truck-load of chocolate was wasted.

"This will be a sweet cleanup!" the Arizona DPS wrote on Twitter.

ABC News' Jen Harrison contributed to this report.