A section of Interstate 471 in Newport will be closed for several hours after a crash between a vehicle and fuel tanker led to a massive fire late Friday.
The crash occurred at approximately 10:10 p.m. March 13 near the overpass for Memorial Parkway, city officials said in a statement to WLWT 5. The overpass serves as the exit for the Newport Pavilion shopping center.
Officials said the crash caused the fuel tanker to overturn on its side. Its fuel then ignited and flames quickly engulfed the area, leading to a massive response from emergency crews from multiple departments. The fire was mostly extinguished by 11:30 p.m.
Two children, ages 6 and 12, and a woman who were in the vehicle were transported to local hospitals, all with minor injuries, according to the statement. A 47-year-old man who driving the tanker was treated and released at the scene.
The statement added that flames traveled through the highway drainage system to the sewer below, but no significant damage was reported.
The Kentucky Transportation Cabinet said in a Facebook post at 12:30 a.m. that all lanes were still blocked on I-471 northbound and southbound near Grand Avenue. The scene is expected to be cleared within the next few hours, the post said.
“Our KYTC structures bridge inspectors are inspecting the areas where the fire took place to ensure the infrastructure is able to reopen and is in good shape following the fire,” the cabinet said in the post, also asking motorists to avoid the area over the next coming hours.
Darrin Becker of Newport said he was on the job as an Uber delivery driver in Bellevue when he a saw a bright light go up in the air, “like if the sun came out for a minute.”
He completed a delivery in the area but said he eventually had to pull over into the Kroger Marketplace parking lot because “the smoke was so bad, you couldn’t even see.”
“It was crazy. (The smoke) just kept getting higher and higher,” Becker said.
This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Crash involving fuel tanker sparks large fire that closes I-471
Reporting by Aaron Valdez, Cincinnati Enquirer / Cincinnati Enquirer
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