Video captures terrifying moment driver passes by collapsing I-95 overpass
Amazing video shows the moment the southbound lanes on I-95 began to dip following the northbound side’s collapse after a tanker truck burst into flames in Philadelphia on Sunday.
Retired Philly police Sgt. Mark Fusetti was heading to the Philadelphia International Airport on Interstate 95 around 6:20 a.m. when he spotted dark smoke plumes over the highway, initially mistaking them for a bushfire.
Video from inside his car shows the billowing smoke clouds engulfing the northbound lanes of the highway near the Cottman Avenue exit.
As Fusetti drives past the smoky archway, he appears not to notice that the northbound side of the overpass has completely collapsed.
And as he passes directly over the flames, he hits a sudden bump on the southbound side, which knocks his camera over.
“When I drove through it, I hit a bump, it felt like a bump. The bump I’m hitting is the southbound side of 95 that is now buckled,” Fusetti told CBS News on Monday morning.
“It felt like hitting a curb, too. That’s how low the highway was at the time that I went over.”
Officials said there have been no reports of injuries or fatalities as a result of the fire and collapsing roadway, although Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro noted Sunday that at least one vehicle was trapped beneath the rubble.
Everything you need to know about the Philadelphia I-95 overpass collapse
A heavily traveled section of I-95 collapsed in Philadelphia on Sunday after a tanker truck burst into flames underneath it, police said.
The collapse occurred after a tanker truck carrying 8,500 gallons of gas to a local Wawa failed to make a turn and flipped on its side, triggering a massive fire, officials said Monday.
The highway catastrophe led to all lanes of the interstate being shut down between the exits of Woodhaven Road in northeast Philadelphia and Aramingo Avenue in the Port Richmond neighborhood.
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Philadelphia Fire Department Captain Derrick Bowmer said the burning truck also led to explosions underground, with flames coming out of manholes that were blown off.
Human remains were recovered from the rubble on Monday, and officials have yet to announce the identity of the victim.
A tractor-trailer carrying “a petroleum-based product” caused the explosion that ended up collapsing the overpass, and lanes in both directions along the stretch of road remain closed because of the massive damage.
“With regards to the complete rebuild of [the] I-95 roadway, we expect that to take some number of months,” Shapiro said during a press conference Sunday. “We expect it to take that time, and we will have that specific timeline set forth once the engineers in Penn DOT have completed their review.”
He assured troubled commuters that he has been in contact with federal Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg to speed up federal funding to repair the busy stretch, which usually carries about 160,000 cars a day.
Pennsylvania Department of Transportation Secretary Mike Carroll urged drivers to be patient as the city works around the clock to provide alternative routes, given the calamity.
“It is our goal to be as quick in our response and our remediation of the challenges as we can,” he said. “The challenges will be real when it comes to traffic movement in the city as a result of this incident.
The Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority said the agency has added extra capacity and service to alternative routes along the city to help ease traffic.
