Truck Carrying Jet Fuel Hit, Explodes On Interstate 82

Sat., June 17, 2000

A truck carrying jet fuel on Interstate 82 exploded Friday when it was rear-ended. The blast killed one person and forced the closure of some 30 miles of eastbound lanes until today.

Westbound lanes of Interstate 82 between Yakima and Ellensburg remained open.

A tractor-trailer rig apparently hit the fuel tanker from behind around 2:30 p.m., igniting the fuel, Washington State Patrol Lt. Mike Warren said.

“The driver of the vehicle that struck the tanker was unable to get out of the truck before the ignition,” Warren said.

There was a tremendous explosion and the tractor-trailer driver was killed, he said.

The fuel truck driver escaped uninjured, Warren said.

The fuel was still burning hours after the accident, said Clarissa Lundeen of the state Department of Transportation in Olympia.

“They’re going to let it burn itself out,” Lundeen said, but that likely will take until today. Then hazardous materials crews must clean up the eastbound lanes before they can be reopened, she said.

Motorists traveling from Ellensburg to Yakima were being rerouted to Washington 821, which runs through the Yakima River Canyon.

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