August 17th, 2010 | 
Author: PENSACOLA, FL – A semi trailer truck carrying thousands of pounds of cheese burst into flames Thursday afternoon, Aug 5, as it traveled on a highway in Escambia County, Florida. The truck accident occurred after the brakes failed on the 18 wheeler on a section of Interstate 10 near the city of Pensacola, FL. The accident area is in the far north-west corner of the Florida panhandle near the Alabama border, about 203 miles west of Tallahassee, FL and about 41 miles east of Mobile, Alabama.
The flames leapt to the trailer and the cargo of packaged shredded cheese burst into flames
At around 2:00 p.m. Thursday afternoon 53 year old Singh Jaspal of Clovis, California was driving a semi trailer truck east on Interstate 10 in Escambia County, Florida about a mile east of the Alabama state line. The tractor trailer truck was carrying 39,600 pounds of packaged shredded five blended cheese which he was delivering to a Little Caesars Pizza Restaurant.
As the truck driver traveled through the area west of Pensacola he noticed that the semi trailer’s brakes were on suddenly on fire. Mr. Jaspal was able to get out of the truck and disconnect the trailer from the semi’s cab. The driver was not injured in the truck accident.
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No other persons or vehicles were involved in the truck accident.
The flames leapt to the trailer and the cargo of packaged shredded cheese burst into flames. Local firefighters rushed to the scene of the truck accident and fought the blazing trailer and burning packages of shredded cheese. According to witnesses in the area the cheese was giving off a pungent stench as it was consumed by the fire. The smell was almost overpowering to some of the drivers still on the interstate.
Police shut down both eastbound lanes of I-10 while the fire team battled the blaze, rerouting vehicles to the east shoulder of the highway. Once the flames were extinguished highway crews were brought to the site to clear the debris of destroyed cheese product, using a front loader to scoop the burnt packages off the roadway and load them into a large container at the side of the interstate.
Another crew worked to tow the burnt wreckage of the semi trailer truck off the highway. It took crews about six hours to clear the roadway. The eastbound lanes of I-10 were finally clear and reopened to traffic at around 8:00 p.m. Thursday evening.
Florida Highway Patrol investigated the truck accident and determined that the failed brakes caused the fire that destroyed the trailer and its cargo of cheese. It is not known if the State Commercial Vehicle Investigation Unit will conduct an additional inspection on the semi trailer and its brake system.
At this point the truck driver, Mr. Jaspal, has not been charged in the incident.
For more information about Florida trucking laws, truck injury causes and victims rights, contact a nationwide truck accident attorney at Gordon, Elias & Seely, LLP for expert advice. For a free initial consultation, talk to a FL truck accident lawyer at 800.773.6770.
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