Key points:
- Witnesses have reported seeing flames shooting 20 metres into the air
- Fuel from the truck has spilled into a local creek
- The crash brings the state’s annual road toll to 70, down from 86 this time last year
A 59-year-old Echunga man has died after his fuel tanker crashed into a tree last night at Meadows, in the Adelaide Hills.
The accident happened just after 11:00pm on Brookman Road, when the 14,000-litre truck left the road and rolled, before bursting into flames.
Witnesses who called triple-0 reported seeing flames shooting 20 metres into the air.
Seventy firefighters from the Country Fire Service and Metropolitan Fire Service fought the blaze, which melted parts of the road.
Brookman Road will be closed between Morris Road and Hammersmith Drive for most of the day as crews carry out repairs.
Neighbour and fellow truck driver Drew Goldner heard and saw the explosion, and said he called triple-0 straight away.
“The flames were huge,” he said.
“While I was on the phone to the emergency people there were couple of explosions — scared the hell out of me — flames were going up, tyres exploding.”
The man’s death brought the number of people killed on South Australia’s roads this year to 70.
The Environment Protection Authority has assessed the environmental impact of the fuel spilling into Meadows Creek.
“Oil, fuel and firefighting foam has primarily impacted about 100 metres of a small creek along Brookman Road and there is contaminated soil on the road verge,” it said in a statement.
“The creek is a small secondary creek which feeds into Meadows Creek about 500 metres down-steam, however impacts appear to be localised with minimal risk to local fauna.
“EPA Water Quality staff will conduct a follow-up assessment once the cleanup is completed.”
Yesterday, a 22-year-old Felixstow man died after the car he was driving hit a tree and burst into flames on Main North Road at Elizabeth.
South Australia’s road toll at this time last year was 86.
Extracted from ABC