GREENWOOD VILLAGE, Colo. (AP) - The Latest on tanker truck fire on Interstate 25 near Denver (all times local):
3:55 p.m.
The director of Colorado’s transportation department says some workers will experience “a pretty snarled p.m. commute” after a tanker truck caught fire on Interstate 25 south of Denver.
Shailen Bhatt says all northbound lanes at the scene near the Denver Tech Center will remain closed through the evening. Crews have opened some southbound lanes, and light rail service in the area has resumed.
The driver of the tanker truck managed to jump out of the vehicle and tumble onto the highway as traffic passed by.
Video obtained by KDVR shows the man having trouble standing and then another person running to his aid and helping him away on Wednesday. Another witness told KMGH-TV that the driver’s leg was on fire.
The fire engulfed the truck and sent a large plume of black smoke billowing into the sky.
All lanes of the interstate are expected to be open by Thursday morning’s commute.
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3 p.m.
The driver of a tanker truck that caught fire on Interstate 25 near Denver managed to jump out of the vehicle and tumble onto the highway as traffic passed by.
Video obtained by KDVR-TV shows the man having trouble standing and then another person running to his aid and helping him away on Wednesday. Another witness told KMGH-TV that the driver’s leg was on fire.
The fire soon engulfed the whole truck and sent a large plume of black smoke billowing into the sky.
It took firefighters about three hours to extinguish the fire but it’s not clear when the busy highway will reopen. A nearby light rail station has also been shut down.
Highway crews are assessing damage to the pavement and officials are working on a traffic plan in case the interstate is still closed during the evening rush hour.
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1:30 p.m.
A tanker truck fire has shut down a stretch of Interstate 25 in the Denver area.
A large plume of black smoke billowed high into the sky from the truck around midday Wednesday but the flames and smoke soon died down. Firefighters sprayed foam on it and across both north and southbound lanes about 12 miles (19.3 kilometers) south of downtown near the Denver Tech Center.
Firefighters say one person was injured and taken to the hospital.
A witness told KMGH-TV that the truck was smoking before it crashed into the concrete median and burst into flames. Chris Modlin says a road crew helped pull the driver out and put out flames on his leg.
The fire has also shut down light rail trains that run along the interstate.
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1:05 p.m.
A tanker truck fire has shut down a stretch of Interstate 25 in the Denver area.
A large plume of black smoke billowed high into the sky from the truck around midday Wednesday but the flames and smoke soon died down. Firefighters sprayed foam on the burning truck and the foam was also sprayed across both north and southbound lanes about 12 miles south of downtown.
Firefighters say one person was injured and taken to the hospital.
The fire has also shut down light rail trains that run along the interstate near the Denver Tech Center.
It’s not clear what led up to the fire.
The truck was resting up against the concrete barrier that divides north and southbound lanes.
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