Tuesday, March 31, 2015

TRUCK CARRYING TIRES EXPLODED AND CAUGHT FIRE, CRASHING INTO A SECOND 18-WHEELER IN LANCASTER, TEXAS




 








MARCH 31, 2015

LANCASTER, TEXAS

All lanes of northbound I-35E in Lancaster are closed due to an 18-wheeler fire.
Lt. Kelly Hooten with the Lancaster Police Department says a truck was carrying tires and for some reason exploded and caught fire just before 3 a.m. Tuesday near Parkerville Road.

Hooten says the Werner truck was burning and still moving when the driver jumped out. The truck then collided with another 18-wheeler, causing them both to hit the center median. The burning truck also hit cushion barricades and slid across several lanes of traffic, dumping tires and diesel fuel all over the highway.

The driver of that truck was alert and able to speak with investigators, but he was taken to a local hospital with non-life threatening injuries. The driver of the second truck was not injured.

Lt. Hooten says the truck fire is out, but I-35 will be closed for several hours as crews clean up the mess. The service road reopened just after 5 a.m.

TxDOT says one lane of I-35 is expected to reopen at 1 p.m. It is unknown when the other lanes will open. Crews moved the burned truck off the road and are still working to clean up the fuel and tires that spilled.

Alternate routes include Hampton, Polk and Houston School.

There is no word on what caused the fire. Calls to Werner have not been returned
Source: http://www.wfaa.com