FREDERICK COUNTY, Md. — One person is dead after a fiery crash Tuesday involving an overturned fuel tanker on I-70 that shut down all lanes in the area of a rest stop near Mt. Airy, according to Frederick County Fire and Maryland State Police.
Officials with Frederick County Fire said its department responded to the crash that happened around 2:30 p.m.
Officials have said the fire is now out, but pictures and video from the scene show a fiery blaze that could be seen from I-70 earlier in the afternoon.
The Frederick County Fire Department, The Maryland Department of the Environment, and the Maryland State Police crash team responded to the scene. The Maryland Office of the State Fire Marshal and the Maryland State Police Forensic Sciences Division crime scene technicians also responded to the crash scene.
Maryland State Police is handling the investigation of the crash. In a release Wednesday, MSP said the tanker went off the left side of the road, into the median, overturned and caught fire. Investigators say it's still unclear why the truck left the road.
The driver of the truck, identified by police as 57-year-old William J. Costigan of Damascus, Maryland, was pronounced dead at the scene of the crash.
All lanes of I-70 were closed for hours due to the truck fire. There were no other injuries reported.
Lanes eventually reopened to traffic around 9 p.m. Tuesday night, police said. The Frederick County Sheriff’s Office, the State Highway Administration, and Maryland Department of Transportation assisted with the lane closures and detours for drivers.
The cause of the crash remains under investigation. Additional details were not immediately available.