JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Trucks involved in a fiery crash early Friday morning shut down the Buckman Bridge for hours.
Northbound lanes reopened just before 11:30 a.m.
Here’s what happened before the fiery crash:
An initial crash happened a little after midnight, the Jacksonville Fire and Rescue Department said.
A semi-truck from Rives Transport Incorporated, which is based in North Carolina, collided with another vehicle. One person was trapped inside that vehicle and another person got out of the vehicle.
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The truck driver, a 44-year-old man from Gastonia, NC, was OK and a private ambulance company took the person who was able to get out of the vehicle to the hospital.
JFRD performed an extrication and got the other person out of vehicle and took them to hospital in serious condition.
The vehicle was towed away and the semi-truck was waiting for a wrecker after the crash, though the Florida Highway Patrol had a wrecker on scene after the crash.
“We summoned a wrecker to go to the scene. Had a wrecker on scene but the driver declined, to use his own which is perfectly acceptable protocol,” FHP Sgt. Dylan Bryan said. “But at what time he actually notified his own wrecker company to respond, I’m not sure. But we’re told he had a wrecker in route, which does fall within the time threshold allowed by Florida statute for him to obtain that wrecker.”
Here’s how the fiery crash happened:
FHP said the semi-truck was still pulled over on the shoulder of Interstate 295 near the base of the Buckman Bridge, waiting for a wrecker.
The driver was asleep in the truck’s sleeper unit.
Around 6 a.m., two box trucks were traveling eastbound, which is the Buckman Bridge’s northbound lanes.
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One of the box truck drivers, a 61-year-old man from Ruskin, Fla., fell asleep at the wheel, veered off the road and hit the semi-truck that was waiting for the wrecker, FHP said.
That box truck had the name Chadwell Supply Inc. on the side of it. It is a family-owned supply company, which carries appliances and parts, blinds, doors and floors and electrical equipment. The company is about 50 years old and has 19 branches, including Orlando, Tampa and Miami.
“Started suffering fatigue or just flat out fell asleep and veered off the roadway and struck the back of that first truck,” FHP Sgt. Dylan Bryan said.
The second box truck, driven by a 60-year-old from Tampa, was struck by debris from the crash.
Here’s what emergency crews found when they arrived:
JFRD said when their crews arrived on the scene, the semi-truck and the box truck that hit it were both engulfed in flames.
No one was taken to the hospital, but the driver of the first box truck had minor scrapes and cuts.
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The box truck involved in the crash re-ignited around 9:30 a.m. and JFRD’s Hazmat Unit responded to contain that fire.
The driver who caused the crash is likely to be charged after the investigation has concluded, FHP said. No injuries or fatalities were reported by JFRD in the second crash.
FHP said there is no protocol for a trooper to stay behind a disabled vehicle as long as it is off the roadway.
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“Only if it’s in the roadway, we’d have visual indicators,” Bryan said.
The driver of the semi-truck had emergency triangles out behind the truck.
“He was properly marked and out of the roadway,” Bryan said.
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Florida Department of Transportation crews responded to assist JFRD and evaluate the roadway at the crash site and the approach to the bridge.
“As with any state facility, safety is our number one priority,” FDOT spokesman Hampton Ray said.
FDOT determined it was safe to open the roadway just before 11:30 a.m.
PHOTOS: Buckman Bridge shut down after early morning fiery crash
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