Authorities in Columbus, Ohio, were forced to close several lanes on Interstate 270 on Sunday after a fuel tanker filled with an estimated 8,500 gallons of gasoline overturned and started a massive fire. According to local police, though, the crash and resulting fire weren’t necessarily the driver’s fault. Instead, they blame the driver of a black pickup truck, who authorities are still searching for, WBNS 10 TV reports.
Initial reports suggested the pickup truck driver cut off the tanker, causing it to crash, but police now say it was more than a little bad driving. According to the latest report, the truck was driving beside the tanker and lost control, hitting the fuel tanker and causing it to crash into a guardrail. The tanker then flipped on its side and caught fire. Instead of stopping to check on the driver of the tanker truck, the pickup truck driver kept driving.
Thankfully, the tanker truck’s driver was not killed in the fire and only suffered minor injuries. Emergency responders took him to a nearby hospital for treatment and was listed in “stable” condition, although it isn’t clear if he’s been released or not. No other injuries have been reported at this time.
Hit-and-run
In addition to filling the sky with black smoke, the fire also forced emergency responders to close the off-ramp to Route 161, as well as all the eastbound lanes of Route 161 for 15 hours, as they worked to put out the fire, then clean up the debris and evaluate any possible damage the crash may have caused. The tanker overturned at about 1:40 p.m. on Sunday, and the road didn’t reopen until 5:35 a.m. Monday morning, after officials determined the ramp had not been damaged enough to warrant closing it to traffic.
The driver who fled the scene of the hit-and-run in the black pickup truck, however, is still at large. Unfortunately, authorities have little information on the truck, other than its color and reports that it was seen heading east on Route 161. Since it collided with the tanker before speeding off, it would likely have damage on the side, but authorities still have yet to locate either the truck or the driver. Local cops are asking anyone with information on the crash to contact the Columbus Police Department or Central Ohio Crime Stoppers.
Hopefully, the driver turns themselves in, as their reckless driving could easily have killed someone. This is also far from the only time a fuel tanker crash has caused a large fire. Back in 2015, a mattress on the road caused an explosion on the New Jersey Turnpike, and in 2021, a fuel tanker hit a median in Troy, Michigan, igniting 14,000 gallons of fuel. Additionally, in 2023, a burning tanker took out part of Interstate 95 in Philadelphia. So while you should drive safely no matter what, you should also be especially cautious around fuel tankers. Most car crashes don’t result in Hollywood-style explosions, but if you hit a fuel truck, you could easily create yet another exception to that rule and possibly kill someone.
