Transporting Liquids Fatality File

Overturned gas tanker carrying flammable liquids explodes on highway in Maryland, killing 1 person.

CNN ? One person died after an overturned gas tanker carrying flammable liquids exploded on a highway in Frederick, Maryland on Saturday, causing damage to nearby homes and vehicles as city officials advised residents to avoid the area.

Flames and smoke billowed into the air after the truck tanker crashed into a tree and exploded on US Route 15 shortly before 12 p.m. ET in the western Maryland city, about 50 miles west of Baltimore, according to Ron Snyder, public information officer for Maryland State Police (MDSP).

After several hours, the fire was put out and the hazardous materials, which were in the line of gasoline and diesel fuel, were contained, Frederick County Fire and Rescue Chief Tom Coe said during a news conference Saturday afternoon. The hazardous materials didn?t reach the nearby Carroll Creek, which flows into the Monocacy River in Frederick County, Coe added.

Officials were working with the truck?s owner to identify the liquids inside the tanker, Coe said.

The driver of the truck, whose identity has not yet been released, died in the crash, Snyder confirmed to CNN by phone. There were no other injuries or fatalities reported in connection with the crash or the fire, Coe said.

Smoke and flames billow from tanker after it exploded Saturday, March 4, 2023, on US Route 15 in Maryland, according to Ron Snyder, public information officer for the Maryland State Police (MDSP).

The explosion took place a month after a freight train carrying hazardous chemicals derailed in East Palestine, Ohio, igniting a dayslong inferno, spewing poisonous fumes into the air and killing thousands of fish.