AKRON, Ohio — The northbound lanes of Route 8 reopened Wednesday after a fiery crash on Tuesday killed a driver of a vehicle that crashed with a tanker truck.
Crews repaved the portion of Route 8 between Howe and Tallmadge Road where the fire started.
The identity of the crash victim is unknown at this time. The driver of the tanker wasn't hurt.
ODOT released video of the fiery crash via a public records request. Watch it in the media player below:
Akron officials said that some of the gasoline that leaked from the tanker entered the nearby storm sewer and then traversed the pipe to where it discharged at the Cuyahoga River near High Level Bridge. Firefighters used a flame retardant foam to neutralize the flames and break down the gasoline.
Residents and businesses living within a half-mile radius of the crash were evacuated due to smoke and fumes in the air, approximately a total of 250 homes and businesses.
“I am incredibly proud of the organized and professional response from our emergency responders today,” Akron Mayor Dan Horrigan said. “Akron police, Akron fire and our service department crews, in coordination with many of our local partners, worked diligently and efficiently to reduce the risks and impacts of this serious and tragic event on the public.”
RELATED: 1 person confirmed dead after fiery crash closes Route 8 in Akron
