Four thousand gallons of jet fuel spilled out of a tanker split open when it hit a guardrail and overturned on Wednesday afternoon in Indianapolis, igniting a highway overpass ramp, and sending flammable liquid pouring down both sides. Thankfully the driver was able to get out of the truck on his own, but his clothes ignited, and he was taken to a local hospital where he is in critical condition. Nobody else was injured, and no other cars were involved. The incident occurred at the junction between I-465 and I-70.
Obviously there are no fire hydrants on the scene, so the local fire department deployed twenty units to contain the blaze, including three tankers and a hazardous materials team. Even with this massive team tackling the project, it still took over 40 minutes of fighting with the fire before it was contained.
Engineers with the DOT have not yet cleared the overpass to accept traffic again. Once the debris is cleared and the road surface is cleaned they can investigate how much damage the fire did to the top layer and structural integrity of the bridge.
According to NBC News, investigators on the scene believe unsafe speed contributed to the truck’s rollover.
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