Beltline Explosion, June 3, 1999

Lee Wilson Photograph

A tractor-drawn gasoline tanker exploded and burned on Beltline just west of Capital Boulevard on June 3, 1999. The late Friday night accident killed the truck's driver after it struck an abandoned vehicle jutting from shoulder. Residents in nearby Brentwood heard the explosion and saw their smoke detectors go off from the wafting smoke. Adjacent brush was ignited and burned up an embankment until extinguished by additional engine companies at the Highwoods Office Park. County departments provided tankers for water support and an airport crash truck was dispatched to the scene. The fire burned both at the crash site and at the bottom of a storm-drain slope. Firefighters ultimately let the blaze burn itself out.