A truck driver incurred severe burns to his hands and face after he drove an 18-wheeler full of compressed natural gas into a bridge in Glenville, New York, Thursday.
The collision occurred at around 6:35 p.m., according to town officials. The explosion, fire and possibility of damage to the Maple Avenue Bridge led Glenville Supervisor Chris Koetzle to declare a state of emergency until further notice.
The blast sent flames as high as 200 feet.
“It was a significant explosion. This is the most significant [damage] we’ve had to either of our bridges,” Mr. Koetzle told Albany NBC affiliate WNYT, referring to the Glenridge Road Bridge.
The driver, Sylvester Basil Jr., 60, of Texas, had traveled from Pennsylvania and was going north to drop off a delivery. Not seeing signs warning the bridge was only 10 feet high, city officials said his truck struck the bridge, according to Albany’s Times Union.
Mr. Basil was airlifted to a hospital with third-degree burns to the hand and face, having escaped the wreckage on foot. A former nurse who saw power flicker out and a plume of smoke went to the scene and helped him.
“I just kept him calm, asking him where he was from and told him that I was going to take good care of him. But his hands were pretty burned,” Peter Sweet, the former nurse, told Schenectady’s Daily Gazette.
Electricity in the area was knocked out for two hours, according to the Times Union.
Officials did not mention any other people injured in the incident.
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