Texas size BBQ

Tanker catches fire, shuts down I-35W

By Deanna Boyd

Star-Telegram Staff Writer

FORT WORTH -- Call it a Texas-size barbecue.

An 18-wheeler carrying tens of thousands of pounds of refrigerated meat overturned and caught fire in north Fort Worth on Wednesday, filling the air with the smell of burning meat and forcing the partial closure of Interstate 35W for several hours.

The wreck happened just after 1 a.m., when the truck's driver struck a concrete embankment while merging onto southbound I-35W from U.S. 287.

"He hit that on the right side of the truck, which basically vaulted the truck and turned it over on its left side," said officer Robert Mills of the commercial vehicle enforcement unit.

The truck's fuel tanks were punctured, sparking a fire that engulfed the cab and part of the trailer and spilling gas onto the highway. The driver, a 24-year-old Dumas man, kicked out a window and escaped with only minor injuries, Mills said.

The southbound lanes and one northbound lane of the highway were reopened by 9 a.m.

"You could definitely smell the meat," said Mills, who considers steak his favorite food. "We went to eat right afterward."

Edit.
This is on my way to work. The Interstate was still shut down at 6 am when I left, so me and my ride share took a seprate route, but we both wanted to go see 40 thousand lbs of meat cooking! the traffice copter reports said it was a heck of a bbq!