CNN
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A body has been recovered from the wreckage of Sunday’s Interstate 95 collapse in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania State Police told CNN Monday afternoon.
The body was turned over to the Philadelphia County Medical Examiner. “Authorities are in the process of identifying the remains,” said Myles Snyder, a spokesman for the Pennsylvania State Police.
Authorities did not provide any additional information.
No injuries or fatalities were immediately reported after a crashed tanker truck caught fire around 6:20 a.m. Sunday and caused a section of northbound I-95 to fall on top of the truck, they said the authorities
But it was unclear Monday whether the driver or anyone else was trapped at any point. Authorities have not confirmed the driver’s condition.
The inferno began after the tanker driver went off a ramp and crashed into a wall, state authorities said Monday. The driver was northbound on I-95 Sunday morning and hit the wall while trying to navigate a curve, Pennsylvania Department of Transportation Secretary Mike Carroll said Monday.
The truck “landed on its side” and the crash into the wall ignited the fire, Carroll said. The truck was carrying 8,500 gallons of gasoline, Pennsylvania State Police said.
Officials will not open a criminal investigation into the collapse, Pennsylvania State Police said Monday.
The company that owns the truck has been in contact with officials and is complying with state police, officials said. State police did not identify the company.
Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro issued a disaster declaration Monday, allowing the state to dip into federal funds and cut red tape to speed repairs.
The highway is one of the busiest interstates in the region, typically carrying about 160,000 vehicles through Philadelphia daily.
Investigators are monitoring the emergency response as crews sift through debris to get to the tanker, a focus of the investigation, said Jennifer Homendy, president of the National Transportation Safety Board.
Large chunks of the fallen overpass are now being torn down, officials said Monday.
“Demolition of the collapsed bridges has begun and detours are in place,” the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation said.
“A more accurate timeline for the full reconstruction of I-95 should be available in the coming days once engineers complete their review.”
As crews try to clear the debris, federal investigators are investigating the tanker fire that caused the collapse, leaving part of the East Coast’s main highway with significant damage that could take months to repair.
I-95 collapse detours
1-95 is Closed between the Woodhaven Road and Aramingo Avenue exits South Detour: Route 63 West (Woodhaven Road), US 1 South, I-76 East, I-676 East North Detour: I-676 West, I-76 West, US 1 North, Route 63 East (Woodhaven Road) People are asked to use public transportation as an alternative i SEPTEMBER is adding capacity and service
The tanker truck was carrying gasoline intended for delivery to a local Wawa gas station, Homendy said.
“We have to go in and see what we think happened to the tanker,” Homendy said, stressing that the chain of events won’t be clear until investigators can examine the cab of the truck. “There are a lot of different scenarios,” he said.
Researchers could also consider the structural makeup of the bridge, Homendy said.
U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said his agency is ready to help local officials quickly address the major disruption caused by the collapse. “To be clear, it’s quickly not going to be overnight,” Buttigieg told reporters Monday at an event hosted by the American Council of Engineering Companies. “We are talking about a large structural work.”
The northbound lanes collapsed and the southbound lanes were damaged from the intensity of the inferno and “were not structurally sound to carry any traffic,” Shapiro said.
Restoring the highway will likely take months, he said, adding that his office was looking at “alternatives to connect the highway beyond the detours.”
“I found myself thanking the Lord that no motorist on I-95 had been injured or killed,” Shapiro said.
Rep. Brendan Boyle, a Democrat whose district includes the collapsed section of the freeway, told CNN that “you’re going to have literally millions of people in what is one of the largest population centers in the country significantly affected “.
All lanes of I-95 are closed between the Woodhaven and Aramingo exits city of Philadelphia said Some surrounding streets are also closed for emergency response.
Drivers heading south can take Route 63 West, US 1 South, I-76 East and I-676 East, the city said. Northbound drivers can detour onto I-676 West, I-76 West, US 1 North to Route 63 East.
Leslie Richards, CEO of the Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority (SEPTA), said the agency is adding additional capacity and service to other transit routes and evaluating all options to help commuters as they work to avoid the collapse of the freeway.
“In order to accommodate city and regional travel following the collapse of I-95, SEPTA will provide additional capacity and service on the Trenton, West Trenton and Fox Chase lines,” said SEPTA, the sixth largest public transportation agency in the US.
The governor said Buttigieg “has assured me that there will be no delay in deploying federal funds to quickly help us rebuild this critical artery. I-95, of course, is a critical highway that supports our economy and plays an important role in people’s everyday lives,” Shapiro said.
While the fire was contained late Sunday afternoon, firefighters remained on the scene as a precaution “due to the sheer volume of product involved,” said Philadelphia Fire Department Assistant Commissioner Jeffrey Thompson .
Crews worked through the night to clear the collapsed section of road.
Officials warned residents to avoid the area and to expect delays in garbage collection and bus routes in the area.
Shortly before the collapse, Mark Fusetti was driving south on I-95 in Philadelphia to pick up his son from the airport on Sunday when he saw large plumes of dark smoke and began recording video. At first, he thought it was a brush fire.
Fusetti’s cellphone footage appears to show his car and other vehicles driving down a “dive” along I-95 as smoke billowed from underneath on both sides of the road. He said he was shocked by the drop.
“It felt like you went off a curb,” Fusetti said.
“I realized what happened when I looked in the rearview mirror. I see 95 – all the cars stop and then I knew, shortly after that the road just collapsed and what was really going on,” said Fusetti on CNN’s Jim Acosta on Sunday.
With thousands of tons of steel and concrete on top of where the fire was burning, firefighters initially faced the challenge of reaching the seat of the fire, Philadelphia Fire Department Battalion Chief said Sunday , Derek Bowmer, at a press conference.
“It looked like we had a lot of heat and intense fire under the underpass,” Bowmer said.
There were also explosions around the freeway collapse caused by “the runoff of some fuel or gas lines that may have been compromised by the crash,” Bowmer said.
President Joe Biden has been briefed on the collapse, according to a tweet from White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre.
A spokesman for the Federal Highway Administration said Administrator Shailen Bhatt would be in Philadelphia on Monday to “provide federal support and assistance.”
