PHILADELPHIA — The National Transportation Safety Board released Thursday a preliminary report on its investigation into the collapse of part of Interstate 95 in North Philadelphia on June 11.
The preliminary report said that the driver of a tanker truck that was transporting gasoline lost control on an off-ramp of Interstate 95 causing the truck to flip before catching fire underneath the interstate and causing the roadway to collapse, according to The Associated Press. The driver was killed in the crash.
The truck was operated by an affiliate carrier that was leased to Penn Tank Lanes, according to the NTSB’s report. The truck had about 8,500 gallons of gasoline in it from Wilmington, Delaware to a gas station on Oxford Avenue in Philadelphia.
The NTSB said the speed limit in that area was 55 mph and the off-ramp which was at Cottman Avenue was 25 mph speed limit along with a truck rollover warning sign.
NTSB releases preliminary report for the safety investigation involving a gasoline tank truck and the collapse of an I-95 overpass in Philadelphia on June 11: https://t.co/ng1nidjvrY
— NTSB Newsroom (@NTSB_Newsroom) June 29, 2023
“The truck driver was unable to maintain control of the combination vehicle on the off-ramp. The truck rolled over and subsequently caught fire under the northbound lanes of the I-95 overpass,” the NTSB said.
Northbound lanes of Interstate 95 collapsed onto Cottman Avenue off-ramp, according to the NTSB. The southbound lanes were also damaged by the fire.
The NTSB was on the scene the night of the incident, the AP reported. Crews worked around the clock for about two weeks to get traffic going through the area again being that it is “a heavily traveled section of the East Coast’s main highway.” State officials estimate that about 160,000 vehicles daily travel through that section of Interstate 95.
The investigation into the Interstate 95 incident is ongoing and the NTSB said they are working to determine a probable cause “with the intent of issuing safety recommendations to prevent similar events.”
The investigation includes NTSB, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration, the Pennsylvania State Police, Penn Dot, and city authorities, according to the Philadelphia Inquirer.
