BOLTON, Vt. (AP) - Several motorists pulled a driver to safety from truck, seconds before it exploded and burst into flames on a highway during rush hour traffic.
Vermont State Police are investigating the crash, which occurred shortly before 7 a.m. on Monday along Interstate 89 in Bolton. The driver, Austin W. Wheatley of Brookfield, was pulled out of the vehicle by three people before the truck exploded. Wheatley was taken to University of Vermont Medical Center for smoke inhalation and chest and facial injuries.
The Burlington Free Press reports that an eyewitness saw Wheatley wearing a seatbelt. Police said neither speed nor driver-impairment appears to have contributed to the wreck.
Southbound traffic was stopped for 45 minutes after the crash and did not fully resume until 9 a.m.
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