Firefighters had the blaze under control quickly and worked to clean up the Hazmat spill.
CHARLOTTE -- A tractor-trailer collided with a train Friday morning, sparking a fire with heavy smoke and shutting down a portion of a northeast Charlotte roadway.
Police say the incident happened around 8:15 a.m. on University City Boulevard near the Mecklenburg-Cabarrus county line. The driver of the truck was taken to the hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.
The crash resulted in a two-alarm fire that was quickly contained and a hazardous material spill. The truck was carrying thousands of pounds of mineral oil to a Duke Energy substation nearby.
“We have product of mineral oil on the ground,” said Mark Basnight, of the Charlotte Fire Department. “Anytime you have hazardous materials on the ground, it’s an environmental problem.”
News 14 Carolina's Shannon Peluso is at the scene with more on the accident and the cleanup efforts.
Authorities say they are not sure exactly how the accident happened but it is cause for concern.
“Whether it’s this road crossing or any road crossing, our concern is the citizen, John Q. Public, takes common sense, courtesy, safety precautions when crossing any railroad crossing,” Basnight said.
According to the Federal Railroad Association, there were 68 collisions at railroad crossing last year across the state. Five people died and 20 others were injured.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration says a motorist is almost 20 times more likely to die in a crash involving a train than any other type of crash out on the roads.
Several agencies including the State Bureau of Investigation will be taking a closer look at this particular accident to determine who, if anyone, is at fault.
Highway patrol expects that portion of University City Boulevard to be shut down until at least 5 p.m. Drivers should use North Tryon Street as an alternate route.