BOSTON (WHDH) - Fire crews worked quickly to free a trapped driver who was hospitalized following a fiery crash with a tanker truck on Route 1A in East Boston, officials said.
A section of Route 1A northbound was temporarily shut down early Wednesday morning as crews worked to extinguish the flames, which threatened to ignite the 8,000 gallons of diesel fuel that were inside the tanker, fire officials said.
Authorities said the crash was reported sometime around 3 a.m. and occurred in the area of 440 William F McClellan (Rte 1A).
Video from nearby surveillance cameras showed the moment of the crash, when the tanker heading down Route 1A appeared to strike a vehicle entering from Boardman Street, resulting in a large blast that engulfed both vehicles. A second blast followed soon afterwards.
Officials said the fire itself appeared to have been sparked by a pipe leaking underneath the truck.
While the truck driver was said to be uninjured, officials have said the woman in the other vehicle was taken to a hospital for burn injuries. Meanwhile, her vehicle was burnt out by the time 7NEWS cameras arrived.
“It was burning while she was in it, so one company went right to her and focused on getting her out of the car, and the other started with the truck because obviously we had to get that fire out quick,” Boston District Fire Chief Mark Raymond said.
The driver, identified as Sabrina Ouldzenagui, 25, was taken to Mass General Hospital. Her father, Omar, spoke with 7NEWS as he went to the hospital to see his daughter.
“I’m still shocked – I’m talking, but I don’t know if I’m talking or not – I’m shaking,” he said. “Thank God and thanks to the firefighters.”
Efforts to clean up the aftermath of the crash and investigate continued through the morning, with parts of Route 1A blocked off up until the early afternoon, snarling traffic.
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