Update: Driver forced to run through flames when semi catches fire on I-80 in Tooele County

AirMed helicopter. File photo: Wikimedia Commons/Bobjgalindo

TOOELE COUNTY, Utah, July 10, 2019 (Gephardt Daily) — Utah Highway Patrol officials said Wednesday morning a driver who was severely injured when a fire broke out in his semi had to run through the flames in order to escape.

The burning semi was at exit 56 on westbound Interstate 80 Tuesday night.

A tweet from UHP Wednesday morning said: “Just learning that the driver of this semi was pulled over on the exit utilizing the sleeper berth when the engine area caught fire for an unknown reason. He had to maneuver through the flames in order to escape.”

UHP tweeted that the driver, the vehicle’s only occupant, sustained life-threatening third-degree burns and was flown to the hospital by AirMed helicopter.

Fire crews shuttled water to the semi and were able to extinguish the blaze.

The cause of the fire is not yet known.

Gephardt Daily will follow up on this developing story as more information is made available.

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