Three people were critically injured after a crash involving a fuel tanker truck caused a massive fire on Interstate 95 in Palm Beach County Tuesday.
The incident happened on I-95 near Atlantic Avenue in Delray Beach shortly after 1 p.m.
Footage showed a tanker truck and two cars on fire near the median of the highway, with plumes of thick black smoke filling the air.
Multiple fire trucks responded to the scene and the roadway was completely shut down as crews worked to put out the flames.
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Delray Beach Fire Rescue officials said they joined Palm Beach County Fire Rescue and Boca Raton Fire in working to put out the fire.
Officials said a second fire sparked on the west side of the highway from fuel run-off from the tanker.
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Florida Highway Patrol officials said one of the cars traveled into the tanker's lane of travel, causing a collision. The tanker overturned.
A third driver swerved to avoid the crash and hit the median, knocking down a light pole that fell into traffic, hitting the fourth and fifth cars, officials said.
The crash caused the truck to burst into flames, which spread to three of the cars.
Fire rescue officials said five people ended up with injuries in the crash, with three of them seriously hurt. The victims have not been officially identified.
Firefighter Eric Solera said his coworker, 26-year-old Brian, was injured in the crash. Brian and his girlfriend Su were in an Uber headed toward a cruise port when the tanker flipped on its side and burst into flames.
Solera said the couple was in the hospital with burns. Brian had apparently broken out of the car window to escape but went back to save Su when he realized she was still in the car.
FHP is the lead investigator of the cause of the crash.
