Alcohol is believed to be a factor in a pickup truck-ethanol tanker accident early Saturday morning in Niles Township.

The Berrien County Sheriff’s Department and Niles Township Fire Department were dispatched at 3 a.m. to an accident at U.S. Highway 12 and Third Street.

A Dodge Ram truck driven by Delane Overton, 45, of Bangor, Mich., was traveling east when it collided with a 2012 Peterbelt semi hauling 8,400 gallons of ethanol that was turning onto U.S. 12 from Third Street.

Both vehicles were damaged. The tanker held its cargo

The driver of the Peterbelt was Nicholas Stevenson, 42, of Granger. The truck belongs to Pac Trucking in Kankakee, Ill.

Overton was taken to Memorial Hospital in South Bend with minor injuries.

The investigation remains open.

U.S. 12 opened at about 6:45 a.m.