A tanker trunk burst into flames on the 710 Freeway in Commerce, injuring two people, destroying a total of seven vehicles and forcing the closure of all southbound lanes, authorities said.
The incident was first reported at 9:37 a.m. as a double-wide tanker trunk that had tipped onto its side and caught fire on the southbound 710 Freeway, at the Washington Boulevard overpass, according to California Highway Patrol logs. It was not initially clear if any other vehicles were involved in the crash.
Firefighters arrived to find the flaming truck “hanging over the side of the freeway,” Los Angeles County Fire Department Inspector Brian Jordan said.
The tanker fire quickly grew to massive proportions, prompting authorities to evacuate nearby homes as a precaution.
No homes caught fire, however the burning tanker truck and crude oil that spilled out of it set six other vehicles on fire on Washington Boulevard below the freeway, Jordan said. They included five passenger vehicles and one commercial truck.
“There was fire on the freeway, fire on the ground below,” Jordan said.“Crude oil inside the truck caught fire. Crude oil went down the storm drain, onto the street.”
Both directions of Washington Boulevard became covered with burning oil.
Though CHP logs indicated the tanker truck driver, a man in his 30s, was feared burned and seriously injured, he was ultimately taken to a hospital with injuries described as minor to moderate, Jordan said.
Another man who was also in his 30s who had been walking near scene when the fiery crash occurred was hospitalized for minor to moderate injuries, Jordan added. The type of injuries the man suffered was not clear.
Caltrans officials were summoned to the scene to inspect the overpass to see if it had been compromised by the fire, CHP Officer Monica Posada said.
The northbound lanes of the 710 Freeway near the crash scene was shut down for about an hour following the fire, Posada said. The southbound lanes were expected to remain closed well into the afternoon.
Officers from the East Los Angeles office of the CHP were handling the investigation.
