HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) — A fuel tanker explosion sent two men to the hospital and led to the closure of all southbound lanes of the North Freeway near Tidwell Road, along with the feeder road, for over twenty hours.
According to Houston police, a speeding driver crashed into an 18-wheeler transporting fuel around 10 p.m. on Saturday, causing the truck to fishtail and flip over.
Armin Franco, who was standing in a neighbor’s yard about a block away, heard the initial impact. He told that he ran to help with two other strangers and saw the truck still rolling as they approached.
Franco said the truck’s driver exited the vehicle and began to run. The driver climbed out through his windshield and immediately alerted first responders that the tanker might explode.
Franco, an immigrant from Belize, and the two other good Samaritans found the car’s driver bloodied, unconscious, and trapped.
“His feet were stuck in something, so I pushed him with my whole body,” Franco said.
Seconds after they freed him from the wreckage, the tanker exploded, knocking them back.
“We just felt something blow us,” Franco said. “Like the wind, it hurt really hard.”
The heat was so intense that the men had to move the unconscious driver again.
A TxDOT spokesperson told that the flames damaged the freeway’s concrete.
The damaged concrete and the necessary hazmat cleanup after fuel spilled onto the road resulted in the complete shutdown of that freeway section and feeder road until 5 p.m. on Sunday.
According to Houston police, the driver assisted by Franco remained in critical condition on Sunday.
“Maybe one day it could happen to me. That’s why I ran to help the guy,” Franco said.
