Tanker rig overturns and burns on I-90 in Issaquah
Robert Powell, 44, the driver of the truck, was not injured. Powell, of Renton, has 10 years of truck-driving experience and works for Lee & Eastes Tank Lines in Seattle. He and the company declined to comment last night.
For 1-1/2 hours, 125 firefighters from Eastside departments sprayed water and foam on the burning trailer rig, trying to keep it from igniting the front tanker. The rear tanker was fully loaded with 6,400 gallons of fuel; the front tanker had 5,000 gallons of gasoline.
Powell told police he was in the right lane heading to a North Bend gas station at 6:25 p.m. when he approached heavy traffic trying to leave the freeway at the Front Street exit. He told police that when a car cut him off, he couldn't stop and swerved to the shoulder. His brakes locked.
State Patrol spokeswoman Monica Hunter said the rear trailer flipped onto its side. "It went up in flames, and everybody was just trying to take evasive action," she said.
Hunter said investigators will look into whether Powell was going too fast for the conditions.
Witnesses said Powell likely saved lives by avoiding other cars and getting the tanker over to the side.
"He couldn't have done better," said Curtis Franke, a truck driver from Oregon who saw the accident.
Westbound lanes of I-90 were reopened at 9:05 p.m. Eastbound lanes were to be closed for several more hours.
The state Department of Ecology was investigating whether any spilled fuel had entered a nearby creek.
Lee Soptich, chief of Eastside Fire and Rescue, said the abrasion of the metal tanker against the asphalt pavement may have sparked the fire.
The fire was dangerous and difficult to fight, Soptich said, and fire officials decided it was best to simply contain and control it. It was close to a storefront, and a row of trees had to be cut down to get to it. At one point, a brush fire broke out. And there was a great risk that the front tank would explode.
While the fire was raging, crews used thermal-imaging equipment to monitor the heat of the front tanker before it finally was unhitched from the burning rear tanker. Firefighters made several attempts to get the truck out of harm's way — however, it wouldn't start.
Two plane-crash tenders from Boeing — one from the Renton and one from Seattle — were dispatched to assist, and their foam finally helped douse the blaze.
Guy Guadalupe, 39, of Newcastle had been on his way to his daughter's swim meet and was two lanes from where the truck came to rest.
"It was on its side, it was on fire. I said, 'Let's move, let's shut the windows' — I thought it was going to blow."
Guadalupe estimated the trailer had skidded 400 to 500 feet on its side. He drove away as fast as he could.
Chris Jensen was driving home to Issaquah and was directly behind the truck, about 10 car lengths back, when he noticed it bearing down on rush-hour traffic exiting at Front Street.
"It hit the backup there, and the guy nailed his brakes and jackknifed," Jensen said.
"It slid out silently and rolled. The back end rotated clockwise and took the front end with it. It was like the tail wagging the dog."
As Jensen pulled over to the shoulder, he noticed fire.
"There was a flame trail going under the truck," he said. "It was like when you light a grill at one point, and the flame goes along the length.
"I was kind of in awe; it was a shocking thing. After seeing things like this in movies, I was expecting something totally different, like it would be a lot louder with a huge explosion."
Jensen, who works for Boeing in nearby Eastgate, said he regularly waits in backups at the Front Street exit that can stretch for hundreds of yards.
Franke, the Oregon truck driver, said the exit has long been a problem. "Everybody is crisscrossing, and there's not enough space to stop."
Michael Ko: 206-515-5653 or mko@seattletimes.com.