Authorities in Columbus, Ohio, had been compelled to shut a number of lanes on Interstate 270 on Sunday after a gasoline tanker full of an estimated 8,500 gallons of gasoline overturned and began a large hearth. In response to native police, although, the crash and ensuing hearth weren’t essentially the motive force’s fault. As an alternative, they blame the motive force of a black pickup truck, who authorities are nonetheless looking for, WBNS 10 TV studies.
Preliminary studies recommended the pickup truck driver lower off the tanker, inflicting it to crash, however police now say it was greater than a bit of unhealthy driving. In response to the most recent report, the truck was driving beside the tanker and misplaced management, hitting the gasoline tanker and inflicting it to crash right into a guardrail. The tanker then flipped on its aspect and caught hearth. As an alternative of stopping to verify on the motive force of the tanker truck, the pickup truck driver saved driving.
Fortunately, the tanker truck’s driver was not killed within the hearth and solely suffered minor accidents. Emergency responders took him to a close-by hospital for therapy and was listed in “steady” situation, though it is not clear if he is been launched or not. No different accidents have been reported at the moment.
Hit-and-run
Along with filling the sky with black smoke, the fireplace additionally compelled emergency responders to shut the off-ramp to Route 161, in addition to all of the eastbound lanes of Route 161 for 15 hours, as they labored to place out the fireplace, then clear up the particles and consider any doable injury the crash could have prompted. The tanker overturned at about 1:40 p.m. on Sunday, and the street did not reopen till 5:35 a.m. Monday morning, after officers decided the ramp had not been broken sufficient to warrant closing it to site visitors.
The driving force who fled the scene of the hit-and-run within the black pickup truck, nonetheless, remains to be at massive. Sadly, authorities have little data on the truck, apart from its coloration and studies that it was seen heading east on Route 161. Because it collided with the tanker earlier than dashing off, it could seemingly have injury on the aspect, however authorities nonetheless have but to find both the truck or the motive force. Native cops are asking anybody with data on the crash to contact the Columbus Police Division or Central Ohio Crime Stoppers.
Hopefully, the motive force turns themselves in, as their reckless driving might simply have killed somebody. That is additionally removed from the one time a gasoline tanker crash has prompted a big hearth. Again in 2015, a mattress on the street prompted an explosion on the New Jersey Turnpike, and in 2021, a gasoline tanker hit a median in Troy, Michigan, igniting 14,000 gallons of gasoline. Moreover, in 2023, a burning tanker took out a part of Interstate 95 in Philadelphia. So when you ought to drive safely it doesn’t matter what, you also needs to be particularly cautious round gasoline tankers. Most automobile crashes do not lead to Hollywood-style explosions, however if you happen to hit a gasoline truck, you could possibly simply create one more exception to that rule and presumably kill somebody.
