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HARRISBURG (Pa.) — According to federal investigators, gasoline spilled from an unsecured hatch at the top of a fuel delivery tanker which overturned and caught fire beneath an Interstate 95 Bridge in Philadelphia a few years ago.
Investigators obtained video evidence that showed the 16-inch manhole cover was not properly secured by the time Nathan Moody drove to a Philadelphia convenience store, 42 miles away, to fill up the tank. The crash claimed the life of Moody and caused transportation to be disrupted for weeks along an important interstate.
The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives released a “cause and origin” report in September, but it was made public on June 12. It stated that the “combined opinions” of their investigators are “that the fire most probably originated when gasoline escaped from the open manhole” as the trailer overturned and almost 2,500 gallons of gasoline and ethanol mixed began to spill from a portion of the tank and begin to ignite.
The findings shed light on the early morning crash of June 11, 2023 that destroyed the bridge beyond repairs and closed the heavily traveled north-south route in both directions for two weeks until a temporary patch made of lightweight glass nuggets could be installed. The highway was reopened to traffic last month after a permanent bridge was opened in November.
Good news: Construction of I-95 in Philadelphia has been completed, thanks to the hard work and collaboration of state and federal workers. pic.twitter.com/sMAvKppOvn — U.S. Department of Transportation (@USDOT) May 28, 2024
The ATF report is part of a set released by the National Transportation Safety Board to investigate the cause of explosion. The final report of the NTSB could take up to a year.
A NTSB report on “human performance” said that the truck rolled as it navigated an off-ramp, at what appeared to be a high speed in surveillance footage from a nearby building.
The NTSB stated that video footage of the truck’s previous stop showed that the driver failed to close the manhole at the top of his tank before driving off.
The ATF stated that it is possible that the aluminum tank ruptured, the vapor recovery element was damaged, releasing gasoline, or vapors. It could also be the case that the vehicle’s tanks for diesel gas ruptured, or any combination of these factors.
Isaac Moody, Moody’s cousin and a trucker himself, said on June 13 that he was not aware of the tanker manhole issue, but knew Nathan as a safety-conscious, up-to date driver who adhered to regulations and training requirements.
On June 23, 2023, a fire engine from Philadelphia Fire Department was first to cross the repaired portion of Interstate 95. (Joe Lamberti/Associated Press)
Isaac Moody, in a telephone interview, said that it was easy for people to blame the trucker for almost every accident. “As soon a trucker can’t defend themselves, they start finding all sorts of stuff.”
In an interview with Philadelphia Battalion chief Theodore Quedenfeld, the NTSB stated that firefighters were initially faced with “a lot fire coming out of storm sewers due to the runoff”, and that multiple manhole covers in storm sewers eventually became projectiles that flew into the air as a result of exploding gas.
He said that firefighters had to temporarily shut down their lines because they couldn’t be sure if any storm sewers fed branches that would end up at a water treatment facility.
He said there were “dozens and dozens” explosions.
“It appeared that you would get an explosive and then it would kinda snuff out itself, but the heat, you know, would cause it to reignite once it got a bit of oxygen,” Quedenfeld said to the NTSB.
Philadelphia Fire Capt. Cary Boyd told NTSB that when his team arrived, “every square inch of that underpass was nothing more than flames.”
Boyd later said that “the manhole covers popped and they weren’t the little ones, they were the big manholes.” There was a lot of pressure.
The NTSB documents included a policy of two pages issued by trucking company Penn Tank Lines Inc. in Chester Springs, Pa. in 2022, which mandated that truck drivers inspect tanker manhole cover before each trip. The policy described manhole covers as devices which will form a sealing in the event of a vehicle rolling over. It also noted an incident that occurred a year before in which a cover was left unsecured allowing “leakage and causing an environment spill.”
Investigators stated that Moody, 53, a resident of Willow Grove, Pa. was a licensed commercial driver with an owner-operator license since 2003. He leased his vehicle to TK Transport Inc. in Pennsauken, N.J. which is an affiliate of Penn Tank Lines since 2001. TK Transport, Penn Tank Lines, and executives from the companies were contacted by phone.
Before the crash, I-95 carried around 160,000 vehicles per day on its section.
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