A truck driver was severely injured when a tire exploded in his face on Wednesday, Sept. 14, on Interstate 285 in Georgia.
According to an interview with WSB-TV in Atlanta, Capt. Eric Jackson of the DeKalb County Fire Rescue said the driver pulled his tractor-trailer over and got out to check on the brakes. When he did, the heat from a brake fire caused the tire to explode, Jackson said.
While the driver’s name was not released, Jackson said he was in critical condition at a local hospital.
The fire began to consume the tractor-trailer, which was carrying hospital supplies such as wheelchairs, hospital beds and oxygen tanks. The oxygen tanks created an additional obstacle for the fire department, Jackson said.
Jackson said traffic was shut down on I-285 in both directions until the fire was under control.
“There were oxygen cylinders that were launching themselves in all directions,” Jackson said. “We didn’t want to take a chance in having one of those cylinders launch itself into eastbound traffic and hit a car going perhaps 60, 70 or 80 mph. We made the decision through DOT to shut down the freeway so that we could get the fire extinguished and so that we could get our arms around these oxygen cylinders that were launching in different directions.”