A year after a deadly crash destroyed a bridge along I-95 in Philadelphia, federal investigators released a report saying gasoline spilled through an unsecured hatch on top of the fuel delivery tanker. gasoline that overturned.
Investigators viewed video evidence showing that a 16-inch manhole cover had been open when driver Nathaniel Moody, 53, arrived at a Wilmington, Delaware, station to refill the tank, and had not been properly secured. when he walked away to deliver the tank. to a convenience store 42 miles away, The Associated Press reports.
An “origin and cause” report from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, issued in September but made public late Wednesday, says the “combined opinion” of its investigators is “that the fire probably “caused when gasoline leaked.” ” manhole opened when the trailer overturned and nearly 2,500 gallons of a gasoline-ethanol mixture began spilling from a section of the tank and igniting.
“It’s very easy for them to blame the truck driver in almost every accident that happens,” Moody’s cousin, Isaac Moody, who is also a truck driver, told the AP. “When a trucker can’t defend himself, he runs into all kinds of things.”
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Crews work at the site of a collapsed section of Interstate 95 in Philadelphia, June 14, 2023. A new report, released Wednesday, June 12, 2024, by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives , details the events leading up to the gasoline delivery truck crash that ultimately destroyed the bridge. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke, File)
The accident occurred on June 11, 2023. Authorities said a tanker truck carrying 8,500 gallons of gasoline was traveling in the northbound lanes of the highway and overturned while turning left onto an exit ramp. The accident caused a gasoline leak from the vehicle and catch fire.
A portion of I-95 that had collapsed after flames and smoke rose near Cottman Avenue and State Road in Northeast Philadelphia was closed.
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Nathaniel Moody, 53, was identified as the driver of the fuel tanker that caught fire before the Interstate 95 fire and collapse in Philadelphia. (Courtesy of the Moody family)
In this photo provided by the City of Philadelphia Office of Emergency Management, smoke rises from a collapsed section of the I-95 freeway on June 11, 2023, in Philadelphia. (City of Philadelphia via Getty Images)
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A permanent bridge opened to traffic in November and the road returned to normal operation last month.
Moody lived in Willow Grove, Pennsylvania, and had been an owner-operator with a commercial driver’s license since 2003. His cause of death was determined to be “blunt force trauma to the head and thermal injuries and inhalation,” and his form was ruled of death an accident, Fox 29 Philly reported. His cousin Isaac Moody knew he was a safety-conscious driver who complied with regulations and training requirements.
Fox News’ Stephen Sorace, Louis Casiano and the Associated Press contributed to this report.
