JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Two northbound lanes and two southbound lanes of Interstate 295 were blocked at Roosevelt Boulevard for more than three hours Monday afternoon as firefighters and state troopers dealt with the aftermath of a tractor-trailer fire.
The Florida Highway Patrol said an eastbound Mazda Miata changed lanes and sideswiped the big rig and the semi hit the guardrail about 2:30 p.m., flipped and burned. The driver of the car was hospitalized with minor injuries. Her passenger was not injured. The truck driver got out before the cab of his vehicle was engulfed in flames and did not require hospitalization.
Jacksonville Fire-Rescue tweeted about 3:15 p.m. that it expected lanes of the highway to be closed for a couple of hours. By 4:30 p.m., the trailer of the big rig was back on its wheels, but steaming and too hot to move.
At 5 p.m., northbound traffic backed up across the Buckman Bridge into Mandarin. Southbound traffic was backed up well into the Westside. Roosevelt Boulevard was also backed up in both directions at the Duval County-Clay County line.
About 6 p.m. the cones were picked up and all lanes were reopened, although activity in the median kept traffic moving slowly.
FHP said the trailer contained boxes of T-shirts, so there were no hazardous waste concerns, but lots of fuel for a fire.
According to the accident report, charges in the crash are pending.