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Fuel Tanker Ignites Interstate Inferno

News Channel 8 photo by JIM WEBB

I-75 remains shutdown between U.S. 301 and the Bradenton-Arcadia exit.

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By RAY REYES

The Tampa Tribune

Published: June 5, 2008

Updated: 06/05/2008 12:22 am

ELLENTON - Alan Hensley exited Interstate 75 Wednesday afternoon and was about to turn onto U.S. 301 when "the most god-awful sound I ever heard in my life" filled the air.

Above him, on the interstate overpass he just left, a tanker truck's tires shrieked as it tried to brake. A split second later, a deafening boom erupted as the tractor-trailer plowed through the guardrail and plunged off the overpass.

"You could hear the metal twisting in the air," he said.

The truck's trailer crashed into the asphalt of U.S. 301, followed by its cab - landing only 20 feet away from Hensley's car. The wreckage burst into a massive ball of flames.

The crash shut down I-75 and U.S. 301 in all directions about 4:30 p.m. Wednesday.

After a safety investigation, the northbound I-75 bridge near the Ellenton Outlet Mall was reopened late Wednesday. The Florida Highway Patrol said the southbound one was weakened by the intense fire and is expected to remain closed for weeks.

Concrete "was dropping off and wires were hanging," Hensley said. "I was afraid both northbound and southbound would collapse - that's how hot it was."

As chunks of concrete tumbled from the overpass, Hensley, 44, said he, other motorists and a Manatee County sheriff's deputy rushed to the wreckage to help the driver, who was screaming for help.

"I thought, 'Man, no way anybody's getting out of this,'" said Hensley, a pilot for Spirit Airlines who lives in Parrish.

Despite tremendous heat that caused concrete to glow red, the truck driver climbed out of the cab's window, Hensley said.

Truck Driver Had Severe Burns

The driver was taken by medical helicopter to Tampa General Hospital with burns on 90 percent of his body, said Capt. Larry Leinhauser of Manatee County Emergency Operations. The driver was identified by the highway patrol as Raymond Neumann, 54, of Brooksville. He was listed in critical condition Wednesday night.

The tanker was probably hauling gasoline or diesel fuel, Leinhauser said.

Slick roads caused by rain may have contributed to the crash, Leinhauser said.

A car traveling south on I-75 spun out of control, and the tractor-trailer tried to avoid it, he said. The truck collided with the overpass guardrail and the car struck another vehicle. The other drivers had minor injuries or refused treatment, Leinhauser said.

The Florida Department of Transportation is expected today to release damage estimates and details of how the overpass will be repaired, spokeswoman Debbie Tower said. For the time being, electronic signs showing alternate routes are posted.

About 100,000 cars a day use I-75 in the area. The highway patrol predicts roughly an hour delay on alternate routes, and says side streets near the scene will be backed up.

Thick Smoke Marks Scene

Shortly after the crash, a thick pillar of black smoke billowed above the overpass. Tendrils of smoke reached over both sides of the bridge. Some drove across the overpass before authorities arrived.

Kimberly Sabo was of one of them. "From a distance, it looked like a forest fire," said Sabo, 32, who was headed home to Lutz from Sarasota. As she crawled along in the traffic jam and got closer, it became apparent there was an inferno under the overpass.

"I was absolutely amazed at the heat, the height of the flames and the height of the smoke," she said.

Sabo did not consider the possibility that the bridge may have collapsed and drove northbound with her windows down, snapping photos with her cell phone camera.

Moments before the truck fell off the bridge, Hensley, the airline pilot, was on the phone with his wife, Melissa. She was dictating a grocery list to him. Soon, all Hensley thought about was saving the driver.

"I thought, 'I got to get off the phone, I've got to do something,'" he said. "But it was too hot to get in there to him."

"That truck was in all kinds of twisted ways," he said. "It's the most intense thing I've ever seen."

News Channel 8 reporter Samara Sodos, videographer Chris Taylor and Tribune reporter Mike Wells contributed to this report. Reporter Ray Reyes can be reached at rreyes@tampatrib.com or (813) 259-7920.

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