Truck explodes at toll booth; jams traffic
A tractor-trailer burst into flames along the Pennsylvania Turnpike Tuesday morning after crashing near an empty toll plaza at the Old Delaware River Bridge Interchange in Bucks County, creating a mammoth traffic jam that persisted into the afternoon.
A tractor-trailer burst into flames along the Pennsylvania Turnpike Tuesday morning after crashing near an empty toll plaza at the Old Delaware River Bridge Interchange in Bucks County, creating a mammoth traffic jam that persisted into the afternoon.
No injuries were reported.
Authorities said the truck hit a traffic attenuator or 'shock absorber' positioned in front of the Bristol toll plaza around 9:15 a.m. The impact caused the truck - which was carrying electrical supplies but nothing hazardous - to catch fire, officials said.
The toll plaza was decommissioned in January and the demolation process has begun. No turnpike personnel were inside the plaza.
Westbound lanes were closed throughout the morning and afternoon as crews removed the charred wreckage of the truck. Two lanes later opened; a third will remain closed until Wednesday night for repairs.
- Caitlin McCabe