A tanker truck carrying around 9,500 gallons of fuel ignited on Wednesday near Hoosick, New York, setting fire to a nearby creek and burning down a section of the Tibbets State Forest. The truck accident occurred when the vehicle veered off of Route 7 before plunging down the hillside. According to police and fire officials, the trucker lost control of the vehicle when Route 7 wrapped around a curve. While the truck burned, a passing motorist spotted the driver on the side of the road and took him to a nearby Stewart’s Shop to wait for an ambulance.
The driver was taken to Albany Medical Center Hospital with second degree burns, and later flown to Westchester Medical Center. The Department of Environmental Conservation worked quickly to clean up fuel and evaluate the full impact of the accident. The fire was fully put out within around an hour.
According to officials, the heat melted the tanker truck, leaving little more than a pile of blackened aluminum on the hillside. The tanker truck accident left Route 7 closed from Brick Church Road to Route 22.
If you have been seriously injured in a truck accident caused by another party’s negligence, please contact The Law Offices of Marc S. Albert today to schedule a free case evaluation with an experienced New York truck accident lawyer.
