June 26, 2002
By DEBRA DENNIS / The Dallas Morning News
A tanker filled with 8,500 gallons of fuel separated from the truck carrying it and burst into flames, forcing the evacuation of dozens of people from a nearby apartment complex and day care center.
There were no injuries reported and no other vehicles involved in the 10:11 a.m. accident along Trinity Boulevard west of State Highway 360 in Fort Worth. The fire continued to burn at 1 p.m., but officials said the blaze was under control.
Firefighters work to extinguish the burning cab and tanker portions of a truck on Trinity Boulevard.
Dozens were evacuated from at First Class Academy daycare and Wood Hollow apartments to nearby South Euless Elementary school. School officials opened a trailer at the school, so the children would have access to air-conditioning.
"We're very fortunate there were no injuries," said James Johns, a spokesman for the Fort Worth Fire Department.
Exits along Highway 360 to Trinity Boulevard were closed, backing up traffic, but officers were attempting to reroute cars along service roads.
Yolanda Walker reports More than 20 firefighting units from Fort Worth and Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport responded to the crash, spraying foam and placing floating booms and sand to prevent fuel from flowing into a nearby creek.
The driver, Robert Riddle of Ayres Trucking Company in Holiday, Texas, told police he was on his way to deliver the gas when the rig and tanker came unhitched, both coming to rest at the median. Vapors from the truck suddenly ignited, sending a huge plume smoke and flames skyward.
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