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One dead in fiery tractor-trailer crash on Schuylkill Expressway

The rig's trailer fell onto a roadway in Fairmount Park, spilling its cargo of produce.

Highway crews clear a fatal tractor trailer accident from Interstate 76 eastbound above Sweet Briar Drive, the access road to Martin Luther King Drive.
Highway crews clear a fatal tractor trailer accident from Interstate 76 eastbound above Sweet Briar Drive, the access road to Martin Luther King Drive.Read moreALEJANDRO A. ALVAREZ / Staff Photographer

One person was killed in a fiery crash Wednesday on the Schuylkill Expressway involving a car and a tractor-trailer that toppled partially off an overpass onto a Fairmount Park roadway.

The crash occurred about 2:40 a.m. where the expressway passes over Sweet Briar Drive. It closed eastbound lanes in the area for hours.

The rig smashed into the barrier on the overpass and the trailer fell onto the drive, spilling a cargo of produce and catching fire. A car involved in the crash remained on the highway with damage to its rear.

Numerous Philadelphia Fire Department units responded. Firefighters had to set up a relay between trucks to pour water on the burning trailer.

There was no immediate word on the conditions of anyone else involved in the crash.

The Medical Examiner’s Office responded to the scene after daylight. State police are investigating.