Open gas tank lid may have sparked fire that led to collapse of I-95 in Philadelphia, NTSB says

PHILADELPHIA (CBS) — One year later Deadly truck crash, fire causes section of I-95 to collapse in Philadelphiafederal authorities are releasing more information about the possible causes of the explosion.

A Sunoco gasoline truck overturned while going through a curve and crashed before catching fire and exploding under the Cottman Avenue overpass on June 11, 2023, kill the truck driver.

A National Transportation Safety Board report says the fire “probably occurred when gasoline leaked from a 16-inch open manhole…in the trailer as it was was spilled, and the 2,499 gallons of gasoline/ethanol mixture contained in the compartment began to overflow the tank and ignite.”

Another possible explanation for the fire, although less likely, is that the truck's aluminum tank ruptured or the truck's vapor capture components were damaged, releasing gas vapors that could have ignite. The truck's cab diesel tank could also have ruptured, “or a combination of these factors occurred and escaping gasoline or diesel vapors ignited.”

The report says the driver fueled up at the Buckeye Terminal in Wilmington and was heading to a Wawa on Oxford Avenue in Northeast Philadelphia but failed to close the 16-inch hatch.

The accident closed the highway for weeks before workers removed a bed from a lightweight rock-like substance made from recycled glass and topped it with a temporary road crossing the central lanes.

Workers then built a permanent highway from the outer lanes and worked their way into the interior. the completed permanent road on I-95 was fully opened in May 2024.

TK Transport, the tanker's company in Pennsauken, New Jersey, said no one was available to talk about the NTSB report.

TK is also a subsidiary of Penn Tank Lines in Chester Spring, Pennsylvania. We requested a comment but did not receive a response.