7 injured in truck fire accident in Greene County

GREENE COUNTY, MS (WDAM) - A truck fire accident shut down parts of Highway 98 at the Greene County/George County line for 15 hours Thursday.

An 18-wheeler caught on fire after striking a wrecker moving a van on the Chickasawshay River Bridge around 4:30 a.m. Thursday.

According to MHP Troop J Public Information Officer Brent Barfield, a van carrying seven people had a tire blow out while they were traveling eastbound on the bridge. The family called roadside assistance.

Barfield said Charles Smith, 23 of Hattiesburg was called to the scene through Bill's Towing Service to assist the family.

While Smith attempted to load the van on the wrecker, an 18-wheeler driven by a Julio Morales of Miami, Florida crashed through both the wrecker and the van.

During the collision, the fuel tank ruptured, spraying diesel on the road and onto the van and wrecker. All vehicles involved caught fire, according to Barfield.

The seven people were still inside the van at the time of the collision and fire, but were able to escape the vehicle.

Smith, along with the seven people who escaped the van were taken to local hospitals with minor to moderate injuries, according to Barfield.

MHP was called to the scene and were able to convert the four lane highway into a two lane traffic detour while the scene was cleared.

All lanes were reopened to traffic around 7 p.m. Thursday night.

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