What to Know
- Three people were killed after a tanker carrying jet fuel crashed on I-476 in Montgomery County on Saturday
- Officials said the crash happened when a truck failed to stop and rear ended two vehicles that had slowed after one of the cars got a flat tire
- On Sunday, officials announced a third person had died of injuries they suffered in this incident
Three people were killed after a tanker truck crashed and went up in flames on the Pennsylvania Turnpike in Worcester Township, Montgomery County.
The crash happened Saturday morning, before 10:30 a.m. on I-476 between Mid-County Exit #20 and Lansdale Exit #31.
Officials say the chain of events started when the driver of a white Acura got a flat tire and the car behind them put on their hazard lights. The tanker carrying jet fuel failed to stop and smashed into the back of both vehicles, according to investigators.
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Two individuals died in this incident on Saturday, officials said. By Sunday evening, police confirmed that a third person succumbed to injuries they suffered in this crash.
The driver and passenger in the car that had its hazard lights on, as well as the driver of the tanker truck, died because of this incident, Pennsylvania State Police said.
On Saturday, all lanes were closed for most of the day on due to fire damage and fuel spills on the roadway, but all lanes were reopened about five hours later.
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Residents nearby were evacuated out of an abundance of caution.
“It was pretty scary," Michelle Anderson of Worcester Township told NBC10.
Anderson said firefighters went door to door evacuating homes, including her own. She didn't know when she'd be allowed back.
For those motorists stuck behind the crash in the northbound lanes, they were stranded for some time until they were eventually allowed to turn around in the middle of the highway onto the southbound lanes.
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