A tanker truck driver died in a fiery crash early Wednesday on Interstate 880 in San Leandro, officials said.
The driver hit an embankment while heading north near the Davis Street off-ramp where the truck exploded in a ball of fire around 4 a.m., California Highway Patrol officials said.
The driver, who was not identified, died at the scene, the CHP said. No one else was injured in the crash.
Firefighters from the Oakland Fire Department doused the flames on the side of the freeway while traffic was stopped through the area.
Officials did not know what the tanker was carrying because all of the identifying placards were destroyed in the fire. Much of the tanker’s contents, which officials speculated may have been baby oil, washed down storm drains.
Three northbound lanes reopened a short time later. The Alameda County coroner’s bureau collected the driver’s body, while crews work to remove the truck’s burned out shell.
===============================
Big rig fire on I-880 in San Leandro, California, Wednesday, July 27, 2016. (KGO-TV)
Bay City News
Updated 1 hr 7 mins ago
SAN LEANDRO, Calif. -- At least one person has died after a tanker truck crashed and burst into flames this morning on Interstate Highway 880 in San Leandro, according to the California Highway Patrol.
The CHP said the driver was killed instantly in the crash, and what caused the crash was still unknown.
The crash was reported just before 4 a.m., and a Sig-alert was issued at 4:17 a.m. for northbound lanes and the Davis Street exit.
A CHP officer said one lane and the Davis Street exit remain closed, as crews work to clean the debris.
The identification of the decedent has not yet been released.