Dallas Truck Wrecks Cause Injuries & Headaches for Other Drivers

Within a matter of three days, three separate truck accidents in Dallas not only snarled traffic for hours, but also caused damage to area highways.

On Tuesday, a tanker truck and a Jeep collided on Highway 114 in Roanoke. The tanker truck was carrying jet fuel, which caught fire shortly after the collision and burned for hours. Despite the damage caused by the collision, only minor injuries were suffered by a passenger in the Jeep.

Onlookers watched as thick black smoke billowed into the air. Firefighters took air quality measurements to ensure that people in nearby businesses and homes would not be in danger because of the smoke. Clean-up crews could only wait for the fire to burn out before removing the remnants of the truck from the highway, which meant the highway stayed closed well into the night.

The Texas Department of Transportation is expected to inspect the highway for any damage caused by the fire.

And just yesterday morning, another truck overturned on the northbound lanes of Interstate 35 in Dallas near Colorado Boulevard. The 18-wheeler crashed over the barrier into the HOV lane.

The truck was carrying plastic pellets, which spilled out onto the interstate. Hazmat crews were called in to clean-up spilled fuel from the collision. No injuries were reported in the wreck, but drivers making their morning commute north into the Dallas area faced delays of more than an hour.

Then, early this morning, a truck carrying a load of metal pipes turned over on a ramp leading from Interstate 45 to Interstate 30. The truck was the only vehicle involved in the wreck and no injuries were reported, but clean-up crews had to clear the metal pipes from the road before rush hour traffic began.

All of these recent accidents call into question the safety of 18-wheeler trucks.