Truck Fire Closes Southbound 101 in SF

Overturned tanker truck catches fire, shuts down major highway.

Two lanes of southbound U.S. Highway 101 in San Francisco reopened around 11:30 a.m. Wednesday, following a fiery crash that shutdown the highway for hours.

A concrete truck overturned just after 5 a.m. where the freeway crosses over 16th Street, near where Interstate Highway 80 meets Highway 101, CHP  Officer Tony Tam said. If you drive that stretch, the crash happened in front of the UPS building.

The double-tank truck caught fire, but the driver reportedly escaped the vehicle before passing out on the ground. A woman is credited with saving the driver's life after she pulled him to safety. He was taken by ambulance to SF General.

The CHP said he was trying to avoid another crash when his rig jackknifed.

Commuters leaving the city were told to the I-280 bypass or 19th Street, but traffic was gridlock.

Footage showed flames and smoke coming from the truck.

The crash caused concrete and a portion of a guardrail to fall to the street below the highway.  That forced crews to close 16th Street between Vermont and San Bruno for most of the morning.

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