Massive Tanker Fire Causes Big Traffic Delays On Route 9A In Westchester County, New York

Video:Bad Tanker Fire In Westchester County

It's shaping up to be a rugged commute today on Route 9A in Westchester after Wednesday night's ferocious highway fire in Briarcliff manor.

This is the 3rd such wreck we've seen burn through pavement in recent months.

The trouble erupted around eight last night. That is when a tanker and small car collided on highway 9A setting off a fire that closed the road that runs through the heart of Briarcliff Manor. There was 4700 gallons of gasoline in that tanker.

The two drivers were trapped inside their burning vehicles. Rescue workers got the truck driver out and airlifted him to a hospital. The woman driving the small car was pulled-free by a man who used a rock to smash open her windshield.

Her hair and much of her clothing had burned right down to the skin. She was rushed to Westchester medical center with severe burns. Getting the road open again was the next challenge, there was the wreckage, damage to the road itself and spilled fuel seemed to be everywhere.

Around 6:00 a.m., crews were still working to clean all of this up. The woman in the car and the man driving the truck are in critical condition after some really heroic efforts to get them out of the cars.

Authorities sprayed foam on the fire and all of the trees in the area were burnt all the way up a nearby embankment. This fireball was just enormous and some of the people who live in this area thought it was just going to keep coming up. They really did a great job knocking this fire down. One of the reasons they knocked it down so quickly was that there was a meeting of fire chiefs nearby so when this thing happened they were able to mobilize very quickly.

However, authorities still don't know what caused this accident.

As a result of this accident, Route 9A is now closed for your Thursday morning commute in Briarcliff Manor. Crews expect it to be shutdown at least through today and there will probably be construction in this area over the next few weeks because of this accident.

If you are in this area, the route around this accident is to head for Route 100. It is not affected at all. You can also access Route 100 southbound and Route 9A from Pleasantview Road itself.