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HOUSTON --
Part of the interchange between the Eastex Freeway and Interstate 10 was closed indefinitely after a tanker truck explosion damaged the ramps, KPRC Local 2 reported.
Houston police said the driver took a ramp at the interchange too fast and lost control at about midnight Friday.
"It appears the vehicle may have been traveling fast enough to cause it to roll over," Capt. M.W. Martin said. "When it burst into flames its cargo also ignited, causing an explosion."
Massive flames extended about three stories high. Police have not identified the company the truck belonged to because most of it melted.
The driver was killed. His identity will be determined by the Harris County Medical Examiner's Office.
"There is fire and heat damage to the overpass," Martin said.
The intense heat and unidentified corrosive material in the truck caused parts of the concrete overpasses to crumble and turn into gravel.
Crews closed the U.S. 59 southbound to I-10 eastbound and I-10 eastbound to U.S. 59 northbound overpasses so structural integrity can be checked.
Residents said the explosion frightened them.
"I heard about four booms," Jennifer Denley said. "I shook it off and didn't think nothing of it, then I looked out the window and I saw my neighbors running. I thought it was a gun or a cannon going off and it just shook the whole couch, the whole house."
Amateur photographer Stephen Taylor grabbed his camera when he saw what happened.
"The whole sky was black, it was filled with smoke," Taylor said. "At one point the fire went underground and they said it was traveling in the sewer system. There was smoke coming up out of the sewer systems and up under the freeway from the grids."
Taylor gave the video he shot to firefighters so they can use it for training purposes.
