Truck catches fire as driver inspects damage from road debris 

A portion of a busy North Carolina road was shut down on Monday morning as a tractor trailer burned on the shoulder. 

The incident happened on June 6th at around 2:39 a.m. in Polk County, North Carolina. 

According to ABC 13 News, the semi truck was heading east on US Highway 74 at mile marker 163 and Fox Mountain Road near Columbus when it struck something in the roadway. The driver then pulled over to check the damage and realized that his truck was on fire. The truck was hauling frozen whole chickens at the time of the fire. 

Firefighters were able to extinguish the flames, and the driver was unhurt in the incident. A nearby bridge was inspected by NCDOT, who determined that there was minimal damage done and “no structural integrity compromise.”

The roadway has since been reopened.