GWINNETT COUNTY, Ga. — Smoke columns rising in all directions and sirens blaring in the background: a video shared by @SpiritPhild from alongside I-85 was frightening enough already.
Then he heard the explosion.
"Oh my God, something just blew up," he said. "I felt that."
This Twitter user was witnessing the aftermath of a massive fire on I-85 near Jimmy Carter Boulevard. As for the explosion, while the video doesn't show specifically what blew, it happened at a time when gas from a burning and overturned tanker is believed to have leaked into storm drains.
Those leaks are believed to be responsible for the many other smoke plumes.
The fear of secondary fires and other damage forced emergency responders to evacuate people from their cars - and from neighboring businesses.
"Woo, I'm about to go inside the building and get away from this," the Twitter video's recorder said. "This is scary."
"Lord help these people," he said.
The crash happened around 8 a.m. in the northbound lanes of I-85 and involved a tractor-trailer carrying fuel and a passenger vehicle, according to the Georgia Department of Transportation.
Two people perished in the aftermath.
The fire was so intense, it damaged every lane. A 100 ft. by 70 ft. section was impacted, GDOT added. And repairs on one of metro Atlanta's busiest highways took roughly 10 hours.
Meanwhile, investigations into the crash and how the fire erupted so violently are still in the early stages of investigation.
Massive fire on I-85 after crash
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