Woodbridge, VA — Police said that a tanker truck was badly burned and the driver inside was burned as well after a major accident on the New Jersey Turnpike earlier this month, May 5, 2015. They said that a tanker truck lost control along the turnpike that afternoon and crashed, causing an explosion that sparked a very large fire. The truck driver, who wasn’t identified, had to be taken to a hospital to be treated for severe burns. His identity wasn’t ever released and it’s not clear if he’s been released from the hospital yet. This accident took place at about 1:45 p.m. that Tuesday afternoon.
The tanker truck in question was headed south along the NJ Turnpike that afternoon when the driver lost control near Exit 11, which is close to the Garden State Parkway exchange.
The tanker swerved off the road and flipped onto its side, causing the fuel it was hauling to spark and explode. The trucker inside the cab had to be taken to a hospital immediately, where he was treated for serious burns. His name was never released.
The cause of the accident wasn’t ever really disclosed.
Map of the Accident
Commentary:
Whenever I see a commercial truck like this go up in flames, I’m immediately skeptical that it was a “freak” accident. In the movies, giant trucks blow up the second they crashed into anything, but that’s not how things are supposed to work in real life. Truckers have a dangerous job and the cabs of their trucks are supposed to be designed to keep them relatively safe. Unfortunately, not every manufacturer takes make a safe truck because, ultimately, it’s cheaper and easier to just make truck cabs that don’t support the weight of the truck very well, that don’t test well in rollovers, that don’t take the driver’s escape plan into consideration, and the list goes on.
I’d like to know more about what happened here because a simple rollover accident – even in a tanker truck that size – should not result in a massive fire and explosion. Any injuries this driver sustained may have been the result of a faulty design, not necessarily poor driving, wet roads, etc.
— Grossman Law Offices