Pa. Turnpike in Bensalem reopens after truck fires
A truck fire closed the eastbound Pennsylvania Turnpike near Bensalem on Saturday morning. Around 7 a.m., a truck carrying 2,700 gallons of heating oil caught fire. About an hour later, the fire had been put out, but police are still investigating the cause of the fire.
Traffic along the Pennsylvania Turnpike was snarled Saturday after a pair of unrelated truck fires shut down portions of the highway near Bensalem.
The first occurred about 3:30 a.m. in the right lane of the exit ramp to the Bensalem Interchange, said Pennsylvania State Police Trooper Kevin Rathman.
A commercial truck was traveling too fast as it made the turn and tipped over, going over the guardrail before bursting into flames, Rathman said.
The driver was hospitalized with an eye injury. His condition and identity were not disclosed.
The ramp was partially closed as emergency crews worked to clear the crash.
"And then, when they were all but finished with that event, a new event came in," Rathman said.
Around 7 a.m., a truck hauling 2,700 gallons of home heating oil caught fire in a construction area in the eastbound lanes of the turnpike about a mile away. Fire companies extinguished the blaze about an hour later, but police were still investigating its cause Saturday.
Though the truck burned completely down to its frame, the driver escaped injury. The eastbound turnpike was shut down between Bensalem and Willow Grove as crews repaved the road and repaired about 80 feet of damaged guardrail.
In the meantime, drivers were forced to exit at Bensalem, where only the left lane was in use as workers continued to clean up from the first crash.
Though police initially estimated it would take between eight and 12 hours to repair the eastbound turnpike lanes, they were reopened to traffic around 12:30 p.m.
Inquirer staff writer Caroline Simon contributed to this report