OSCEOLA COUNTY, Fla. — The Florida Department of Transportation began an emergency repair job Friday night on a stretch of Interstate 4 in Osceola County that caught fire after a tractor-trailer carrying mail crashed into a concrete barrier early Friday morning. The emergency repairs will cost between $20,000 and $30,000.
The crash caused lane closures on I-4 near US-192 at mile marker 64.
The fire was put out and the unidentified driver was taken to Celebration Hospital with minor injuries.
WFTV found out the driver works for the contractor E-Z and Son, which delivers mail for the U.S. Postal Service. As for the mail, officials said the majority of it was not damaged.
According to the Florida Highway Patrol tire separation was the cause of the accident.
The heat was so intense that the flames burned a hole inside the truck bed. The crash also cracked the fuel tank, which leaked diesel over the highway, authorities said.
"He did drop diesel all the way down the road, about a 300-foot area," said Deputy Chief Danny Mcavoy of the Osceola County Sheriff's Office. "The thing does have a lot of mail in it. So I guess there will be a little delay in delivery."
Crews had to clean up the diesel fuel before they reopened the lanes.
WFTV contacted the contractor who was transporting the mail for the postal service, but he would not say where the truck was going or what was inside.