Tractor trailer flips, burns on I-59
By Mo Jackson, Times Staff Writer
Published July 27, 2007
Photo: GADSDEN TIMES | MARC GOLDEN
Firefighters from at least four area departments battled an 18-wheeler fire on Interstate 59 near the Pleasant Valley Road overpass south of Attalla Thursday. The truck was driven by Juan Jose Lorenzo, 46, of Miami. For more photos, visit
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Firefighters, police and emergency workers spent more than five hours extinguishing a fire that engulfed an 18-wheeler that veered off Interstate 59 south of Attalla and flipped onto its side Thursday.
Attalla Fire Capt. Ron Knight said the driver, Juan Jose Lorenzo, 46, of Miami, lost control of the vehicle while traveling southbound and swerved, flipping the truck onto its passenger side.
"When he went onto the median, everything was on fire," Knight said as firefighters sprayed water on the charred metal hull of the gutted 18-wheeler.
"It jack-knifed and rolled. It was totally involved when we arrived on the scene."
The initial call came in around 6:23 p.m.
He said the truck destroyed about 40 feet of metal railing on the northbound side of the interstate when it ran onto the median.
Knight said Lorenzo and a relief driver managed to escape the vehicle and suffered no injuries.
Both men had run a safe distance away from the burning truck and were standing in the median, Knight said.
The relief driver was asleep in the back of the cab at the time of the wreck.
Knight said Lorenzo, who works for Blue Ridge Auto Transport in West Palm Beach, Fla., was transporting used cars from New York to San Antonio.
He said there were two passenger vans and four cars on the trailer, and all but one were destroyed by the fire.
There were several explosions as gas tanks ignited, and smoke could be seen as far away as downtown Gadsden.
When firefighters arrived on
the scene, they not only extinguished the fire, but also put water in the tanks of the vehicles on the truck to prevent more fuel explosions, Knight said.
The cause of the fire was still undetermined, but Knight said the truck was on fire before it left the roadway.
He said no other vehicles were involved, and there were no witnesses who saw the vehicle leave the roadway.
"Everyone we've talked to saw it after it was on fire in the median," Knight said.
Ivalee Fire, Attalla Fire and Police Departments, Reece City Fire, Rainbow City Fire and Police Departments, Steele Fire, the Alabama State Troopers and the Alabama Department of Transportation worked the scene.
....glad no one was hurt
