On Monday, January 10, 2005 a tanker coming off an exit ramp on I-95 in Selma, Johnston County, North Carolina lost control. The tanker flipped, spilling the diesel fuel and burst into flames.
The driver was able to extricate himself from the vehicle, however he was on fire. Bystanders managed to put the man out, but not before he suffered third degree burns to 92% of his body.
The driver was flown from Johnston Memorial Hospital to UNC Burn Center were he died some 8 hours later.
The fire department allowed the fire to burn itself out, which took about 5 - 6 hours.
There were 8 surrounding departments that responded to the call including Selma Volunteer Fire Department, Pine Level Volunteer Fire Department, Smithfield Fire Department, Wilson Mills Fire Department, Thanksgiving Volunteer Fire Department, Micro Volunteer Fire Department, Selma EMS, North Johnston EMS, along with Selma Police Department, North Carolina Highway Patrol, Johnston County Sheriff's Department, and Hazmat teams from another county.
Smoke from the fire could be seen from miles away. There were two explosions heard and felt from nearly 1/2 mile away.
I-95 was shut down in both directions causing major traffic backups for approximately 10 hours. The north bound lane of I-95 was not reopened until the following day due to road having to be cleaned and repaved.
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