LULING – A woman was killed and a man badly burned following a fiery crash early Thursday on Interstate 310, forcing the roadway’s closure into the evening and possibly beyond.
State Police said Glen Robichaux Jr., was behind the wheel of an 18-wheeler that rear-ended a dump truck driven by Chalanta Brown, 44, about 8 a.m.
Investigators said Brown’s truck was moving at a “very slow” rate of speed when it was hit on the West Bank side of the Luling Bridge.
Robichaux’s 18-wheeler carried 8,000 gallons of gasoline that ignited the truck after the impact. Brown’s dump truck fell on its passenger side.
Brown died on the scene, State Police said.
Robichaux, 31, escaped the cab of his truck and was airlifted to the burn center at Baton Rouge General Hospital.
Police do not believe either driver was impaired. The investigation continued Thursday night.
PHOTOS | Fuel truck catches fire on I-310
The state Department of Environmental Quality said most of the gasoline burned during the accident. A contractor would handle any clean-up, said Tim Beckstrom, a DEQ spokesman.
State Police told drivers to expect delays until the interstate could reopen.
New Orleans Advocate staff writer Ramon Antonio Vargas contributed to this report.