Fuel tanker crashes outside Detroit, shutting down highway

This is the moment a tanker truck carrying 14,000 gallons of fuel crashed into a median and exploded on a Michigan highway — shutting down the roadway outside Detroit.

A 10-second clip released by authorities in Troy shows the tanker slamming into a center median and erupting in flames Monday afternoon on northbound Interstate 75.

The 46-year-old driver — who was lugging 10,000 gallons of gas and 4,000 gallons of diesel fuel — managed to escape the cab with just minor injuries after the spectacular fireball took over the tanker truck.

State transportation officials shut down both directions of the interstate following the crash, which left the tanker truck burning for more than two hours. Firefighters had to use foam to put out the blaze, and cleanup at the crash site lasted several more hours, police said.

“Both northbound and southbound I-75 will remain closed for some time as Michigan Department of Transportation (MDOT) engineers investigate the fire damage along the freeway concrete,” Troy police said in a statement. “[MDOT] has since closed southbound I-75 at Square Lake Road.”

An investigation into what caused the wreck is ongoing. No other vehicles were involved and no other injuries were reported, police said.

The thick cloud of black smoke was visible for miles. The driver of the truck was alert when he got into an ambulance, WJBK reported.

A portion of the highway where the crash occurred had been under construction for the past few years. Transportation officials believe the new section may need to be torn out and rebuilt, according to the station.

State police, meanwhile, tweeted that drivers should completely avoid I-75 in Troy, saying it would be closed for some time since it may have “buckled from the heat” of the blaze.

Anyone who witnessed the single-vehicle wreck should call Troy police at (248) 524-3477.