Truck Fire Causes Massive Back-Up On QEW
Posted July 20, 2006 12:00 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
A blazing inferno shut down eastbound lanes of the QEW at Cawthra on Thursday afternoon.
A small crash involving two rigs resulted in one of the vehicles bursting into flames, causing subsequent traffic chaos for those travelling westbound during an already hectic rush hour.
It was supposed to be a routine run for trucker Ian Williams, who was lugging a load from Toronto to Hamilton. But that all changed when an S.U.V. apparently cut him off, sending him into the other rig.
“It burst into flames,” he recalls. “I just out right away. I got my bag and my wallet and cell phone. Everything else is toast.”
The flames spread through the sleeper cab quickly as traffic crawled along. Mississauga fire teams moved in to extinguish the blaze.
Williams doesn’t think he could have slowed the fire with his own extinguisher.
“There was no time,” he adds. “I just jumped out right away.”
The O.P.P. is investigating.
