The inferno from the truck (Citizen)
Dec. 22, 2020 By Michael Dorgan
A truck carrying hundreds of propane cylinders overturned and burst into flames on the Horace Harding Expressway in Rego Park Tuesday morning.
The tractor-trailer was traveling westbound near the Junction Blvd. exit just before midnight when it slid on black ice causing it to strike a Jersey Barrier and overturn on its side, according to the FDNY and NYPD.
The tanks smashed to the ground and exploded into a ball of fire. Video footage shows the flames raging high into the dark sky. Miraculously the driver, 36, walked away with minor injuries.
The truck was carrying around 300 propane cylinders, each weighing 20 pounds, the FDNY said.
The FDNY sent 25 units and over 100 firefighters to the scene and classified it as a 2-alarm fire. They got the blaze under control at around 1:30 a.m., FDNY officials said.
No other vehicles were involved in the initial collision although one cylinder hit a parked US mail truck causing it to go on fire, police said.
