A tanker accident Monday night led to the closure and rerouting of interstate traffic Tuesday.

Around 11:30 p.m. Monday the driver of an 18-wheeler hauling a load of fuel lost control in the westbound lane of Interstate 20 near mile marker 16 between the Flowers exit and the Big Black River Bridge near the National Guard Readiness Center.

“The driver lost control of the 18-wheeler and ran into the median overturning the tanker,” Highway Patrol Spokesman Eric Henry said in an email.

Emergency management director John Elfer said 5,500 gallons of gas spilled on the roadway, median and crash scene.

Both eastbound and westbound lanes of I20 have been closed.

“Traffic on the eastbound side was rerouted to the Bovina exit to Highway 80. Traffic on the westbound side was rerouted to the Edwards exit onto Highway 80,” Henry said.

Elfer said the interstate would not reopen until later Tuesday afternoon at the earliest.

“They might get one eastbound lane open, but the westbound side is closed,” Elfer said.

The driver of the tanker from 49 TankerLine LLC out of Pearl was airlifted to the University of Mississippi Medical Center with life threatening injuries, Henry said.

The cause of the accident is still under investigation.