Semi Truck Bursts Into Flames In Colorado

05 Aug Semi Truck Bursts Into Flames In Colorado

A semi truck was engulfed in flames on Interstate 70 earlier this week, after it lost its front tire early Sunday morning. The truck’s right front tire flew hundreds of feet away, became airborne, and struck Loren Dumont’s parked sport utility vehicle. Dumont was eating breakfast when he heard a loud explosion.

“I thought, ‘That was weird,’ because it sounded like a bomb going off,’ he said. “I looked out the window and I saw something slam into my car.”

The driver or the truck, William Kennedy, of Redfield, Ark., escaped from the fire unharmed, according to State Patrol Cpl. Larry Graves. He also said that everyone was pretty lucky that the tire didn’t hit any children.

I-70 was closed for roughly 30 minutes. Apparently, sparks from the axle of the truck caused the semi to catch fire.

“Once the wheel separated, it threw off sparks, and it looks like that was the origin of the fire,” Graves said. “The driver came to a stop on the shoulder and was able to get out, but at that point the trailer was on fire and he wasn’t able to put it out.

Fire crews quickly contained the fire without allowing it to spread onto wild brush.

Luckily, nobody was injured in this particular incident. However, imagine the consequences of a large truck like careening into other cars, or worse, bystanders?