Driver killed when tanker falls, explodes
DETROIT (AP) - January 10, 2008 he truck was hauling about 7,200 gallons of butane from
Pennsylvania to Sarnia, Ontario, according to Hubert Blough, vice
president of the company that employed the driver.
"We don't know if he lost control. There was no wet pavement,"
fire spokeswoman Katrina Butler said.
The tanker fell from Interstate 75 in southwest Detroit. Flames
shot dozens of feet in the air. A home near where it landed caught
fire as well.
"None of the witnesses said the truck swerved," Michigan State
Police Lt. Monica Yesh said. "There are no skid marks, which
usually indicates a medical emergency somewhere along the line."
Images captured by a motorist showed flames leaping into the air
from the bridge, sending plumes of black smoke into the air.
"The heat was so intense you could feel it all the way across
the freeway," Alan Carter told television station WJBK. "As a
truck driver it just breaks my heart to see any truck upside-down
like that."
When the tanker hit the guardrail, it flipped over and exploded
when it hit the ground near a house, police said. But the cab of
the truck became lodged on the freeway barrier, which prevented it
from toppling over the edge, she said.
The driver's body was found in the cab of the truck on the
freeway. He was identified as Ronald A. Martinez, 60, of Albion by
state police. He had worked for Aero Bulk Carrier of Grand Rapids
since 1999.
A woman who said she lives in the house said her bedroom began
burning about 8 a.m.
"When I was laying down, the flame came through my window,"
Latosha Davis told WDIV-TV. Davis and other occupants of the home
were able to get out safely.
The home was engulfed within 10 to 20 minutes, she said.
Both directions of the interstate were closed in the area of the
crash.
State transportation inspectors were determining if the bridge's
support beams were damaged by the crash.