A truck driver has been arrested on suspicion of DUI after his rig caught fire on the side of a Kentucky highway on Thursday morning.
The incident happened just after 7:30 a.m. on Interstate 75 near the 116 mile marker in Lexington.
According to Lexington Herald-Leader, the trailer portion of the rig caught fire, and the driver was able to unhook it from the tractor, but the fire still spread to the nearby grassy shoulder, leading to a large blaze that “completely engulfed” the trailer.
“When units got here, the trailer was completely engulfed in flames,” police Lt. Chris Van Brackel said.
“The driver apparently had disconnected the truck from the trailer, so the fire just involved the trailer portion of the vehicle,” said Jordan Saas, a battalion chief from the Lexington Fire Department.
“During extinguishment operations, the fire ended up spreading to the grassy area located on the shoulder of the interstate,” Saas continued.
@HLpublicsafety southbound 75 just past ironworks exit. pic.twitter.com/u7nnsWAs3D
— Russell (@Jarvi_Po4) June 24, 2021
First responders were able to extinguish the fire in approximately 15 minutes, but the cleanup process was a bit more tricky.
“One of the problems we have is the fire was so intense that the wheels on the trailer burned up as well. So instead of just being able to tow the trailer out with a tow truck, they’re actually having to put it on to another trailer to haul it away,” Brackel explained.
Additionally, the rig was hauling “some sort of an epoxy resin” used to seal boats, which leaked onto the ground during the fire, further complicating cleanup.
The incident’s impact on traffic was considered “minimal” by 11 a.m.
The truck driver has since been arrested on suspicion of DUI, but the reason for this suspicion has not been made clear.