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Tractor-Trailer Catches Fire After Crash At Northeast Philly Gas Station

PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- A tractor-trailer burst into flames after it collided with another vehicle at a gas station in Northeast Philadelphia.

It happened around 6:30 a.m. Tuesday at the Speedway gas station at Oxford Avenue and Levick Street in the city's Lawncrest neighborhood.

Police say the truck, towing a trailer for a Shop Rite supermarkets, caught fire dangerously close to the gas station's pumps after it collided with an SUV.

A man working at the Rite Aid across the street heard a loud boom, ran outside and noticed the driver of the SUV needed help.

"I asked him if he was alright and he said he felt dizzy and didn't know here he was at," said Chris Yean. "I just pulled him out. I yanked him out the passenger side."

The impact of the crash truck caused the tractor-trailer to burst into flames.

"[Crews arrived] with heavy fire and flames shooting into the air about 50 feet," said Fire Captain William Dixon.

It took approximately 50 firefighters to bring the fire under control.

 

Both drivers were taken to the hospital in stable condition. But authorities say the accident could have been much worse.

"This is a very danger situation, dealing with pumps and chemicals here," Dixon said.

Officials believe the tractor-trailer may have struck the SUV, but the cause of the crash remains under investigation.

 

 

 

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