In the I-95 collapse in Philadelphia, a body is found in the rubble after a devastating tank truck accident destroyed the freeway
A body was recovered after the I-95 collapse that destroyed portions of the freeway in a fiery tank truck accident.
The collapse happened in Philadelphia on Sunday, disrupting motorists in the area with repercussions that will be felt months later.
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The human remains were discovered Monday during ongoing clean-up operations.
“Authorities are in the process of identifying the remains,” said Myles Snyder, spokesman for the Pennsylvania State Police CNN.
Investigators said they contacted the family of a New Jersey truck driver, who has not been heard from since Sunday, to help identify the remains AP.
Family members of the alleged truck driver have since identified him as Nathaniel Moody, 53.
His family told a local partner fox 29 that Moody was a father and husband with over a decade of truck driving experience.
“He wanted to raise his girl to know what a good father is, what a hardworking father is,” Issac Moody told the outlet.
“He didn’t drink, he didn’t smoke, he didn’t fucking do drugs.
“You’re just like, ‘Nate, what happened? Nate, what happened?’
“Has it been cut off? Was there something down there he had to avoid? All I can say is that he wasn’t a careless driver.”
FATAL ACCIDENT
After the accident happened around 6:20 a.m. on Sunday, no injuries or fatalities were initially reported.
According to Pennsylvania Secretary of Transportation Mike Carroll, the driver of the truck “attempted to navigate the curve, lost control of the vehicle, landed on its side and burst on the gas tank.”
Pennsylvania State Police said the truck loaded 8,500 gallons of gasoline.
The impact with the wall ignited the fire, the heat of which caused the highway to collapse onto the truck.
The police also said they would not open a criminal investigation.
However, portions of the road are expected to be closed for months, affecting north-south traffic between Canada and Florida.
Parts of the road to the south and north have to be demolished.
“The demolition of the collapsed bridges has begun and detours have been put in place,” the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation said.
“A more detailed schedule for the complete rebuild of the I-95 road should be available in the coming days once engineers complete their review.”
However, motorists are being asked to avoid the area and take an alternative route until repairs are complete.
Gov. Josh Shapiro issued a disaster declaration on Monday.
He said Monday that the northbound lanes had collapsed and the southbound lanes were damaged and “no longer able to carry traffic.”
Shapiro spoke about the people on the road but not the trucker, saying he “caught me thanking the Lord that no motorist was injured or died on I-95.”