Fuel Tanker Explodes Into A Ball of Fire On Michigan Highway

Truck drivers are the bloodline for all things good in the United States and abroad, delivering our goods and keeping us well-connected. Seeing them get into accidents while carrying precious cargo isn’t ideal. Unfortunately, that’s what happened on a highway in Troy, Michigan, recently, where a tanker carrying 14,000 gallons of diesel and gasoline crashed into the median and exploded into a fireball. The scene was movie-esque and frightening, to say the least.

During the day on a busy stretch of I-75, Troy Police Department released a video of the tanker carrying 14,000 gallons of fuel veering into the median for no apparent reason. The truck driver cuts from the number one lane, failing to yield for the curve, and cuts off another motorist in the process. The truck driver doesn’t brake or make any attempt to correct the out-of-control tanker. The video will make your heart sink as it collides into the wall before exploding.

In a bizarre and luck-filled twist of fate, the semi-driver was able look death in the face and walk away with minor injuries. Fortunately, no one else was hurt either. If you’ve ever been on a long road trip and thought about the strength of concrete barriers, this video should dispel any doubts you might have had before. The barriers served their purpose and kept the out-of-control semi from careening into the wrong side of traffic and prevented a severe accident.

As you can imagine, there was quite a mess to follow. According to the Detroit Free Press, there were 10,000 gallons of gasoline and 4,000 gallons of diesel that poured out onto the highway that continued to burn violently for hours. Once firefighters put out the blaze, the semi was unrecognizable.

Despite most of the fuel burning in the fire, it’s believed that both gasoline and diesel poured into ditches and nearby drains. In an effort to contain the spill, dirt was hauled in and dumped into ditches. The heat from the flames also damaged the road surface that was recently repaved.

Fortunately, roads, trucks, and fuel can all be replaced, but lives cannot. The driver walking away relatively unscathed is unbelievable. However, the cause of the accident is still unknown, and authorities are continuing their investigations.