Oregon Fuel Tanker Rolls, Burns
BROTHERS, Ore. --
A tanker truck pulling a trailer drifted off a central Oregon highway Wednesday and rolled multiple times before 11,000 gallons of petroleum-based products caught fire, state police said.
Troopers said the driver of the truck had passed another vehicle on Highway 20E about 10 miles east of the town of Brothers before losing control. The unidentified driver may have been ejected from the truck while it rolled off the highway.
According to a state police spokesman, the tanker truck was hauling 6,000 gallons of diesel and 5,000 gallons of gasoline, which caught fire and burned the truck down to its frame.
Firefighters were able to limit the blaze to the general area around the crash scene.
The driver died in the crash.
Highway 20E was closed for about six hours to allow for a police investigation and firefighting operations.
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