FedEx truck engine goes kaput in downtown Polson, leaks fluid

If you’ve ever had a late delivery from a shipping company, such as DHL, FedEx, or the U.S. Postal Service, you might not know exactly what caused the delay. For one FedEx shipment coming through Polson in the early morning hour of dawn, you could say the delay was a mechanical failure. Specifically, an engine failure.

FedEx driver Mike Czech was making a routine run – and about to finish his last run – from Butte to Kalispell, when he heard an unusual noise after his eighteen-wheeler came to a stop at the intersection of U.S. 93 and First Ave. in Polson.

Czech felt the engine shudder and quit altogether around 7 a.m. in the cold, still morning.

While the exact cause wasn’t identified, he stepped out of the rig and saw that the truck was leaking a good amount of fluid flowing beneath the motor and into the street.

Fortunately, the leaking substance wasn’t diesel fuel; the engine cracked a pipe somewhere and spilled transmission fluid out from under the truck.

Even more fortunate was the relative closeness to the Polson Fire Department 100 yards away.

Polson Fire Chief Clint Cottle said he was glad it wasn’t fuel as he and other officials cleaned up the spill.

When large amounts of gasoline or in this case, transmission fluid leaks, the Lake County Office of Emergency Management (OEM) is called to respond. A perhaps little known fact is that the Polson Fire Department has jurisdiction over such matters.

OEM official Steve Stanley was one of the responders to the scene and said the cleanup wouldn’t take very long. Getting another tow truck rig and two other FedEx trucks was another matter.

“Once we get the hydrocarbon material absorbed, we’ll sweep it up” Stanley said.

Czech was glad it wasn’t too serious, but he was disappointed he couldn’t finish the route.

“I drive back and forth between Butte and Kalispell five nights a week,” Czech said. “I was almost done.” He carries heavy freight all through the night and was on the last leg of his night shift. He was in communication with the higher-ups in Kalispell to get two trucks down to Polson for the payload. All he had to do was wait on a tow truck to come and get his rig.

Cottle, a little bleary-eyed, laughed and said, “I was hoping to sleep-in this morning,” before pushing a large broom to get the cleanup squared away. The turnaround was short enough that minor traffic delays were not a problem. So next time you wonder where your package is, there’s a chance it’s due to an unforeseen delay such as the one Czech experienced early Friday morning. There was no official word what the truck was carrying within its bedded walls, but due to the quick response of Polson officials, the delivery would soon be on its way up to Kalispell, in another truck for delivery.