2 dead after fiery crash involving tanker truck on Pa. Turnpike in Montgomery County
WORCESTER TWP., Pennsylvania (WPVI) -- Two people were killed and another person was injured after a fiery three-vehicle crash involving a tanker truck on the Pennsylvania Turnpike.
It happened late Saturday morning in the northbound lanes of the Northeast Extension (I-476) in Worcester Twp. between the Mid-County and Lansdale exits.
Police say a vehicle was stopped in the right lane of the multi-lane highway due to a flat tire. Another driver stopped to help and pulled up behind the car with its hazard lights on.
Police say a tanker truck carrying jet fuel was unable to stop in time and slammed into both vehicles, which caused a large fire.
The driver of the tanker truck and the driver of the second vehicle were both pronounced dead. The driver of the first vehicle with a flat tire was hospitalized for unknown injuries.
Footage captured by passing motorist Hector Lucena shows the scene soon after the crash, as emergency services were arriving.
"My God, debris all over the place. What happened here?" Lucena says aloud in the video, before passing the burning tanker.
An aerial view shows the extent of the blaze as firefighters on ladder trucks worked to put out the blaze.
The crash left drivers stranded for hours. Some people living right off the Turnpike were also evacuated from their homes.
Neighbors said they heard loud booms.
"You could feel them. We could feel them in the driveway. She's like, 'Mom it's shaking," recalled Michelle Anderson.
Both northbound and southbound lanes have reopened.
Police have not identified the victims.
