A driver of a fuel tanker, who was allegedly speeding, collided with a pickup truck on Highway 101 in South San Jose early Christmas morning. Southbound lanes were closed until early Friday morning as authorities in hazmat suits worked to clean up tons of spilled fuel.

As the Chronicle reports, a gasoline tanker carrying two four-thousand-gallon tanks traveling at an allegedly unsafe speed collided with a pickup truck around 5:30 am Thursday near Hellyer Avenue on southbound US Highway 101, causing the tanker to overturn, according to the California Highway Patrol.

Per Bay City News, the driver of the pickup truck, who had slowed down to avoid flooding on the freeway, was uninjured, but the big rig driver was taken to the hospital for assessment.

As crews worked to clean the spill and get the tanker upright, southbound traffic was rerouted to the Yerba Buena Road off-ramp, per NBC Bay Area. Due to the heavy rain and flooding, large amounts of water, along with the spilled fuel, had to be pumped from the contaminated roadway, per KGO.

Per the Chronicle, officials initially estimated the freeway would reopen around 5 pm Thursday, but the estimated reopening was extended to 8 pm, per Bay City News. It was then further extended until midnight, and the roadway reopened at some point Friday morning, per NBC Bay Area.

Authorities told KGO that numerous collisions have been reported, and drivers should use caution on the roadways.

Image: Google Street View

This post has been updated with the time the roadway reopened. Additionally, the amount of tons spilled is unclear and has been updated as such — news outlets reported that it was "600" tons, which is factually incorrect.

Previously: Jackknifed Big Rig, Spilled Fuel Closes Three Lanes of Southbound 101 Near SFO

All lanes blocked wb SF/Oak Bay Bridge due to large paint spill. Vehicles can exit at Fremont Street. CHP on scene. pic.twitter.com/a57OYZq8uh

— Christopher Sherry (@CHPChrisSherry) December 18, 2015

The driver of a truck that dumped a sticky material on the Bay Bridge has been cited after the mishap caused the closure of all westbound lanes during this morning's commute, leading to delays that are expected to last through the afternoon.

California Highway Patrol spokesperson Officer T.J. Shively says that they started getting calls about white paint, epoxy, and paint cans dumped across all the lanes of westbound Interstate 80 just west of the Fremont Street off ramp at around 4 a.m.

By 4:15 a.m., CHP had closed all westbound lanes into SF, and started to clean up what KRON4 reports is drywall spackle.

Caltrans crews dumped sand on the epoxy-like mess and used a sweeper truck in an effort to clear the roadway, as thousands of westbound commuters remained trapped, motionless, in their cars.

The effort went well enough that one lane was reopened by 5 a.m., and the remaining lanes were reopened by 6:45. According to Shively, however, the early-morning backup is expected to have repercussions that last all day and "into the afternoon," so if you're heading from the East Bay to SF at any point today, BART might be your best bet.

Shively says that the truck driver, who didn't stop at the scene of the spill, was eventually tracked down by CHP and cited for driving with an unsecured load.

He says the driver will be hit with a hefty bill, too, as “Whenever somebody spills some type of load, they are held responsible for the clean up."

A Hazmat team has closed San Jose Valley Medical Center's emergency room after an unknown chemical exposure. At least 37 employees, 47 patients were given Silkwood scrubdowns. The toxic mess, it seems, came from a nearby house. According to the Mercury News, "they don't know what kind of toxic substance was released around 8:05 a.m. inside a house on the 3000 block of Yucca Avenue. A barrage of hazardous materials crews are on scene trying to sort out the mess, police and fire dispatchers said." Also, the Merc is reporting that an 18-year-old man died this morning, possibly due to the spill. We'll update as soon as we know more.

Crown State Memorial Beach Park in Alameda closed down after "quarter-sized tar balls and an oil sheen" were found along the shoreline, stretching about half-mile long. No one knows yet where the oil is coming from, but many have speculated that it stems from the Cosco Busan (which, as you may remember, dumped over 58,000 gallons of oil in the SF Bay last year.)

According to the Oakland Tribune, neither the Coast Guard nor the state Department of Fish and Game could figure out the oil got there. While samples of the globules are being analyzed -- please be radioactive, please be radioactive, please be radioactive -- the beach is closed until further notice.

A "significant amount" of spilled into the San Francisco Bay after a tugboat collided with a refinery pipeline Tuesday night at Tesoro Petroleum's Golden Eagle Refinery in Martinez. Reports claim that "it wasn't know how much gasoline spilled into the bay, but a Coast Guard spokesman says it's 'a large amount.'"

Again with the SF Bay spillage secretiveness!

Refinery crews and the Coast Guard are trying to mop up the mess today. As of now there are no further details.

Update: Coast guard says it's no big deal, really. Check it:

Earlier concerns that as much as 1,500 gallons of gasoline had been released into the waters of Suisun Bay from a damaged pipeline at the wharf proved unfounded. The integrity of the wharf's main product transfer line was never breached; a small, ½-inch diameter sample line was damaged, but only released approximately five gallons of gasoline.

Five gallons? Nothing to see here, folks. Move along.

Image credit: Wikicommons

Just when you thought it was safe to go back into the water:

Initial reports indicated that a very minimal amount of the substance, now confirmed to be Toluene, was able to reach the San Pablo Bay. However, upon further investigation workers discovered that an unknown quantity of the chemical was able to seep into the surrounding marsh and wash into the Bay.

The chemical that has reached the San Pablo Bay is expected to diss[i]pate, and will not affect shipping lanes. California Department of Fish and Game environmental scientists will continue to assess the potential impact on fish, wildlife, and vegetation.

The original claim, which was made earlier today, was that "the spilled chemical is not believed to have reached the San Francisco Bay."

According to Marin County officials, about "1,500 gallons of raw sewage" was dumped into the San Francisco Bay today near Point San Quentin. Grody. According to the Gate:

Deartment of Corrections officials have taken action to contain the spill, and are also conducting water testing in the area, authorities said. The public should not go in the water near San Quentin until the area is deemed safe, authorities said. Warning signs will be posted today at the impacted shorelines, according to the Sheriff's Office.

That said, the Bay really isn't into scat games, Marin County. Please keep the mass quantities of urine and fecal matter to yourselves.

After an alert system SNAFU failed to notify workers at a Marin County treatment facility about a sewage overflow on Thursday night, the San Francisco Bay is now the proud recipient of 2.7 million gallons of both "raw and treated" sewage. Lovely.

Although sunbathers are few and far between this time of year, signs are posted all over Crissy Field, Baker Beach, Aquatic Park, and China Beach to keep people from swimming in the water. According to the Gate, "[c]ommercial fishing is not affected, authorities said, and officials said it is safe to swim in Contra Costa County waters." (Yeah, between the Cosco Busan spill, that mysterious goo found on the shore the other day, and now Marin residents' fecal matter, we'll hit the Y instead, thank you.)

Just how the spill happened is still under investigation.

Image: CBS5

Due to a gasoline tanker truck accident -- which resulted in an eco-unfriendly dousing of over "26 gallons" (?) of gasoline, or so said CBS 5's Judge Judy breaking-news interruption -- all northbound and southbound lanes on Highway 101 in Redwood City are closed. That? Blows.

It seems that a 26,000 gallon gasoline tanker big rig overturned just north of Maple Street near Woodside. According to ABC 7, a "Coast Guard crew is heading to the scene to make sure no oil is leaking into drains in the center divide, which flow into San Francisco Bay."

Check your traffic here, here, and here before heading home, folks, and plan on spending time taking alternate routes.

UPDATE #1: The CHP claims it would be well after 5 p.m. before any closed lanes re-open.

UPDATE #2: "The CHP estimated that southbound lanes would reopen about 9:15 p.m., while northbound lanes likely wouldn't be cleared and until 11:30 p.m.," says CBS 5.

UPDATE #3: 15 hours after the crash, three northbound lanes are open. Southbound lanes are all open. Go nuts, people.

Although ABC 7's Cheryl Jennings -- who we find kicky and whimsical -- told us that a cleaning solvent spilled into the bay this morning, we're getting conflicting reports as to whether or not the spill actually hit precious, precious SF waters.

See, after a blaze at an Oakland warehouse today, it was originally reported that "an unknown amount of chemical -- possibly isopropyl alcohol -- may have spilled into a drainage system that connected directly" into the Bay. But according to CBS 5, a Coast Guard investigation "determined that ... [the] chemical spill did not leak into the San Francisco Bay."

Crisis averted. We hope. We know how touchy the Coast Guard is with revealing too much info at once.

Like the bad ass she is, occasional San Francisco resident and current House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has written to the "Homeland Security Department's inspector general requesting an investigation of preparation for and response to last month's oil spill in San Francisco Bay," according to CBS 5. In a wordy missive to Inspector General Skinner, she fired off over a dozen issues she wants taken care of right-quick.

A couple of points she needs to know about why over 60,000 gallons of fuel spilled into the San Francisco Bay: 1) If the Coast Guard had adequate authority to guide such large ships though the Bay, and 2) if the "hours-long delay in notifying the public about the magnitude of the spill adversely impacted the response."

She wants Skinner's homework on her desk by no later than February 1st as well as a "follow up with a written report 60 days later."

Image credit: FreakingNews.com

Audet & Partners, LLP filed a class action lawsuit on behalf of commercial fishers and crab-based (?) businesses in San Francisco on November 20. Today on their site they claim the following, "Breaking News: Cosco Busan Vessel Arrested." Which? Okay then. We have yet to see footage of the vessel getting cuffed by the fuzz with its shirt off, and we can't imagine it heard its Miranda rights being read, but seeing as how we're prone to hyperbole, we'll go with their verb choice. Anyway, you can read more about it here on the law firm's disgustingly .pdf-happy site.

Ultimately, it seems that this is one of two reasons why the ship has yet to leave the Bay. (The first being that the Coast Guard isn't sure if the Busan can safely navigate out of San Francisco waters.) We've been checking BoatingSF for the last few days, wondering why the Cosco has been docked near China Basin for the last couple of weeks. And now we know. So...there you go.

Oh man, are you kidding? This is terrible. Not to get all tugging-the-heart strings today, but this spill is much worse than initially reported yesterday. This oil covered bird above was found at Fort Baker cove in Sausalito today. It seems that the Marin Headlands are getting crazy sloshed with oil on their shores. (The aerial shots of the spill on SFGate are jaw-dropping.)

A Golden Gate National Recreation Area ranger claims that the entire area is covered in oil, "you can smell it. This whole area is closed."

So, two things: one, residents who find birds covered with oil should call 877-823-6926. And two, are there any clean-up efforts going on that we should know about? Like, know about right now? Some readers have asked and we'd love to give you more info. We'll snoop around and try uncovering scheduled efforts, but if any of you have scheduled info on volunteering clean-up, let us know. Please.