Gasoline may be cheaper than it was last Thanksgiving, but it's not so cheap that a tanker full of the fuel won't be a substantial loss to the oil company whose truck exploded in flames early today.
Night turned into day, and anyone within earshot likely was awakened by the terrific explosion resulting from a gasoline tanker truck that rolled over on an interstate ramp near South Haven in the pre-dawn hours this morning. Fortunately for the truck driver and any other motorists who happened to be nearby at the time, nobody else was injured.
South Haven Emergency Services crews responded to a massive fireball on the northbound ramp of exit 26 at Pullman Road along Interstate 196 in Allegan County at 3:15 this morning.
By the time fire officials arrived, the tanker was fully engulfed in flames, and authorities elected to just allow the fire to burn itself out rather than putting personnel at risk of serious injury.
The truck driver was thrown from the wreckage as the tanker rolled over while he was exiting the highway. Several other truck drivers are credited with saving the man's life when they pulled him away from the flaming wreckage. He was eventually taken to South Haven Community Hospital for treatment.
The resulting fireball and burnout resulted in northbound 196 traffic being rerouted at exit 20. Southbound traffic was not affected, and the highway was closed for several hours. It has since been reopened to traffic this morning.
Crews from MDOT, the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality, the Allegan County Sheriff's Department and the South Haven Police Department all assisted South Haven Emergency Services in the investigation of the accident.
