I-75 Bridge in Hazel Park, Michigan, Collapses: Tanker Explosion

by Amy Judd | July 15, 2009 at 05:23 pm

9635 views | 51 Recommendations | 16 comments

Over the I-75 a Bridge at Nine Mile Road in Hazel Park, Michigan was the site of a major explosion today and it has collapsed as a tanker explosion caused the bridge to fall on to the freeway. Fire crews are on the scene.

The freeway is closed between 8 Mile and 11 Road. Authorities are urging people to find alternate routes to work in the morning.

An update about the clean-up process, road closures and traffic problems.

WWJ-AM has released an up-close picture of the burning tankers and the bridge.

There are reports of explosions and flames rising 150 to 200 feet in the air.

At least two semis and two other vehicles were involved. Fuel was on fire in the sewer system along the freeway. The driver of the semi said there was more than nine-thousand gallons of gasoline in the tanker.

The incident happened at about 8:30pm local time, and according to early reports, one tanker overturned on the bridge and then a second one was involved. Other witnesses say that a tanker tried to go under the bridge and caught the top on the structure, causing it to explode.

One tanker was carrying about 9,000 gallons of gasoline. According to WWJ-AM in the area, the smoke is toxic from the tankers. Thick smoke can be seen from miles away. Authorities cannot say for sure at this point how many vehicles are involved as the fire is still burning, and they cannot even see the original tanker that started the fire due to the intense heat and smoke.

One restaurant has been evacuated in the area, and althought there are no reports of any injuries, the situation is still early.

Feed Reader

RT @fl511_northeast: UPDATE: Crash in Columbia on I-75 north at MM 418, all lanes blocked.
RT @fl511_northeast: UPDATE: Crash in Columbia on I-75 north at MM 418, all lanes blocked.
RT @fl511_northeast: NEW: Traffic congestion in Columbia on I-75 north from MM 415 to at MM 418.
RT @fl511_northeast: NEW: Traffic congestion in Columbia on I-75 north from MM 415 to at MM 418.
NEW: Traffic congestion in Columbia on I-75 north from MM 415 to at MM 418.
NEW: Traffic congestion in Columbia on I-75 north from MM 415 to at MM 418.
NEW: Traffic congestion in Columbia on I-75 north from MM 415 to at MM 418.
NEW: Traffic congestion in Columbia on I-75 north from MM 415 to at MM 418.
UPDATE: Crash in Columbia on I-75 north at MM 418, all lanes blocked.
UPDATE: Crash in Columbia on I-75 north at MM 418, all lanes blocked.

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Albert Milliron

at 18:16 on July 15th, 2009

Amy, I added a screen shot from the satellite feed. Foam covers I-75. Bridge collapsed. Fire is shooting up hundreds of feet. 2 fatalities are reported but not confirmed. Some fuel has gotten into the sewer lines. This photo was taken at 8:59 local time.

Amy Judd

at 18:21 on July 15th, 2009

Thank you so much

Albert Milliron

at 18:58 on July 15th, 2009

Your very welcome

Albert Milliron

at 18:41 on July 15th, 2009

Watch Live: SkyFOX VIdeo

Albert Milliron

at 00:48 on July 16th, 2009

Correction - I stated 2 fatalities reported but not confirmed. There were no fatalities. Injuries were treated and released from Beaumont Hospital in Royal Oak.

notthedroidyourlookingfor (not verified)

at 18:40 on July 15th, 2009

They say the tanker was too tall to fit under the underpass, struck the bridge, possibly exploded, and caught fire. Ummm, I-75 is a major freeway in the United States that runs from florida all the way to the top of Michigan. If the Tanker Truck was too tall, what freeway did they intend to drive it down? Something doesn't sound right...

Amy Judd

at 19:04 on July 15th, 2009

Good question - maybe this tanker was unusually tall? I doubt it though..

tnovell (not verified)

at 19:42 on July 15th, 2009

Not true! The tanker hit the median and flipped over. Than it exploded...the driver lived.

notthedroidyourelookingfor (not verified)

at 18:59 on July 15th, 2009

Joe T. (not verified)

at 19:05 on July 15th, 2009

"According to WWJ-AM in the area, the smoke is toxic from the tankers."

Well, yeah - BUT - so is the smoke from ANY fire. ANYTHING that burns gives off huge amounts of carbon monoxide, small amounts of hydrogen cyanide, and countless other toxic gases. BUT, if it's gasoline in the tanker, it's not really more toxic than all 9,000 gallons being burned, and exhausted from, the 160,000 cars/day travelling under that same overpass.

notthedroidyourlookingfor (not verified)

at 21:29 on July 15th, 2009

The Detroit Free Press said:

"The tanker overturned apparently after colliding with a tractor-trailer. It was not immediately clear how many vehicles were involved. The tanker driver appeared to have survived."

http://www.freep.com/article/20090715/NEWS03/90715083/1005/news03

neilabraham

at 21:49 on July 15th, 2009

Awesome coverage! Thanks!

wondering whats new (not verified)

at 04:14 on July 16th, 2009

Man I live less than a mile away from the explosion site and at 8am you can still hear the helicopters and smell thats its nasty out there but I cant find anything about how its going now and the news isnt even talking about it today. I cant go down there with my kids. Can anyone tell me whats going on now?

Amy Judd

at 09:27 on July 16th, 2009

I have an update here on what I could find

DetroitDerek

at 12:55 on July 16th, 2009

I'm 2 miles from it - I was watching coverage of it at 8:15 on channel 7 as smoke clouds were going south of my house last night. I went through there today. The northbound side has completely collapsed and was still smoking as of 2:30 pm today. The Southbound side is still standing and they are running tests to see how compromised it is. No fuel got into the sewer system, as was erroneously reported on Channel 4 here in Detroit. The tanker truck was trying to get over from the left lane and a car sped to block it ( not too bright ), the tanker was then forced to swerve back into it's own lane but didn't have enough room to stop. it hit the center median ( the shoulder on the left is very narrow ) and swerved back over 2 lanes and tipped over when a Meijer produce Semi-truck hit it. They don't know if it tipped over before it was hit or after. There is a big blind turn on I-75 just before this location but I'm surprised there were that many cars on I-75 at 8pm.

Shelby (not verified)

at 17:30 on July 17th, 2009

the tanker didnt scrape the top of the bridge it flipped and scrapped the ground and sparks ignited the deasil and flams were everywhere then the heat of the fire made the bridge colapsed