A truck driver was hospitalized in critical condition after he was struck by an exploding tire in Dekalb County, Georgia. It happened around 9 p.m. on Wednesday in the westbound lanes of Interstate 285 near Chamblee-Dunwoody Road.
According to firefighters, it started when the semi truck’s brakes caught fire. The driver pulled over to the side of the road in order to extinguish the blaze.
When he bent over to examine the brake fire, the tire exploded.
WSB-TV reported that the truck driver was hauling oxygen tanks and medical supplies, some of which exploded, spreading the fire to the rest of the truck.
Residents said that the explosion rattled their homes. “Right when I got outside I could smell it. I got over here and I saw the smoke. People were covering, like this walking that way. The whole thing was on fire, the whole thing,” witness Alex Perry said.
I-285 was temporarily shut down in both directions while emergency crews attended to the scene.
The truck driver suffered serious burns and is being treated at a hospital. No one else was injured in the incident.