Fiery crash on I-94 in North Dakota leaves trucker dead
March 16, 2023
MAPLETON, N.D.–One person is dead after two semi trucks crashed on westbound Interstate 94 a couple of miles west of Mapleton Wednesday afternoon.
According to State Patrol Capt. Bryan Niewind, around 1:45 p.m., a call came in to report a semi truck in the driving lane either stopped or driving slowly. Several minutes later, another call came in reporting a crash at the same location where the second semi struck the first from behind.
The second truck started on fire. The driver was unable to escape and died in the fire.
Thousands of gallons of water were hauled to the scene as firefighters worked to put out the flames.
The truck that was driving slowly or stopped was hauling around 7,500 gallons of airplane deicer that began leaking and was still leaking Wednesday evening. Niewind said the Department of Transportation was creating an earthen dam to prevent the fluid from flowing further into the ditch. He said an environmental team will be assisting in cleaning the spill.
