ASHLAND, OR - Oregon’s Interstate 5 just south of Ashland saw quite a commotion just in time for rush hour on Wednesday, July 13th, when a semi truck toting a large banana load first crashed and then caught fire.
The incident happened around 4 p.m., according to The Oregon Department of Transpiration, with initial officials having announced to drivers that they should expect a delay of up to two hours as they worked to douse the flames.
I-5, MP 10, S of #Ashland. NB fast lane open after a semi hauling bananas caught fire. Expect delays/watch for crews pic.twitter.com/wdrFDfEl1T
— Oregon DOT (@OregonDOT) July 14, 2016
Social media was flooded with witnesses, as videos and updates made their way to both Facebook and Twitter of the burning bananas and the aftermath.
The cause, according to news source KVAL, was that the truck’s brakes overheated, sparking the fire and causing the crash. While the northbound lane was completely closed for a stretch, officials were able to keep the southbound lanes open.
While the incident did unfortunately take a load of produce with it, the driver was able to escape the truck and no other injuries connected to the accident were reported.
For all transportation anomalies and other factors affecting produce, keep checking in with AndNowUKnow.
