PREBLE COUNTY, OHIO — A semi-truck driver and his co-driver escaped without injury after a suspected mechanical failure set their truck on fire near Eaton on Tuesday morning, with the blaze quickly consuming the entire bottom cab before firefighters arrived to knock it down.
Driver Antwion Leflore said he noticed smoke and smelled something burning as he was driving toward a truck stop near US-127 over Interstate 70 at Exit 10. He pulled over to the side of the road — and the truck erupted.
“It just exploded into flames,” Leflore said. He said the fire appeared to start near the driver’s side tires before rapidly spreading to the entire bottom of the cab. He had just enough time to get out safely but not enough to attempt to fight the fire.
Leflore and his co-driver were not injured. The truck, which was hauling cleaning products headed to Washington, sustained heavy damage. Fire and police crews responded to the scene in Preble County and extinguished the blaze.
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