Gas tanker crashes, burns on Route 128

(Courtesy of Beth Pullman)

By Terri Schwartz, Globe Correspondent

A gas tanker truck crashed, burst open, and erupted into flames on Route 128 South in Needham early this morning, but the driver escaped with only minor injuries, state police said.

Kevin Power, 59, of Watertown swerved his tanker to the right in an attempt to avoid hitting a large piece of metal road debris, state police said in a statement. Power lost control of his 2001 Peterbilt tractor and struck the guardrail on the right side of the road. The tanker-trailer attached to the tractor overturned, and the 11,500 gallons of gasoline inside ignited, engulfing the vehicle in flames.

Power was able to free himself from the tractor after the accident, which happened at about 5:40 a.m. He was transported by ambulance to Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston with minor injuries, State Police said. No one else was reported injured.

The southbound side of the highway was closed for about two hours between Route 9 and Great Plain Avenue, while state police and police and fire units from Needham, Newton, Wellesley, and Dedham fought the fire, investigated the crash and removed the vehicle. All lanes are now open, state police said.

Beth Pullman, a Needham woman who lives near the highway, said she heard the crash.

"I was just getting ready to go out for a walk. It was an incredible explosion, very frightening," said Pullman, a 50-year-old teacher, who snapped a picture of the aftermath from a highway overpass.

In March, the driver of a gasoline tanker was killed in Chicopee after he swerved trying to avoid a car accident and the tanker detached from its tractor, exploding into flames. In December in Everett, a tanker truck sped through a traffic circle and rolled over, spilling 9,400 gallons of burning gasoline into a residential neighborhood and causing serious property damage.

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