(WSVN) - A first responder is giving details on what may have caused a fiery wreck that injured five people.
On Tuesday, a massive fire occurred on Interstate 95 that sent five people to the hospital.
Three of the victims are currently in critical condition, they suffered major burn wounds.
“This incident had multiple challenges. The first one being the life and safety challenge,” said Delray Beach Fire Rescue Assistant Chief Greg Giaccone.
According to the Florida Highway Patrol, a car driving northbound switched lanes when it crashed into the tanker, causing it to overturn and burst into flames. Another car tried to avoid the collision and ended up slamming into the median, knocking over a light pole onto two cars on the southbound lanes.
“There were incidents on both sides of the interstate, both on the north and southbound lanes,” said Giaccone, “which is obviously going to divide our resources initially.”
“It looked like a war zone, it looked terrible,” said Brian Bernstein, a witness. “It looked like a plane had crashed or something that had come from the sky and just crashed onto the highway.”
According to Delray Beach Fire Rescue, the fire had made its way into a storm drain, which ignited small fires on the grass off the highway. Crews throughout South Florida responded.
“There were 35 fire rescue vehicles with 75 personnel that was on scene,” said Giaccone.
Those crews had used different resources to get the flames under control.
“This incident involved flammable liquid. In this case, it was a gasoline tanker that had rolled over, requires foam to extinguish the fire,” said Giaccone. “Water alone will not do it.”
Thankfully, the five victims are alive after the fiery crash.
FHP has not released the identities of the victims.
All five victims are recovering in the hospital.
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