By KATIE JOHNSON
Niles Daily Star

A gas leak that occurred early this morning on South Third Street in Niles Township has left some truckers stranded.

Jerry Bowen, a trucker from Merrillville, Ind., said he loaded his tanker at a terminal earlier that morning.
“I smelled gas really strong,” he said.
The leak occurred at Wolverine Pipe Line Co., 2232 South Third St.
Bowen, who was one of four Wystar tanker drivers parked at the Wal-Mart in Niles Township this morning, said “the containment area was completely full” of gas.

The rain this morning was forcing the fumes to “hug the ground,” he said.
Bowen said he will leave to make stops near Chicago.
Firefighters were not available for comment this morning.
An ethanol leak occurred March 5 in the same area.
Employees at Citgo Terminal on the 2200 block of South Third Street were conducting routine maintenance on a valve on one of two tanks in a concrete dike behind the Citgo Terminal building. The tank began to leak and fill the dike. For that spill, according to Niles Township Fire Chief Gary Brovold, firefighters covered the spill with a foam “blanket” and then shut off the valve to a trickle.