Garbage Hauler Catches Fire On I-94 Near Southfield Freeway

ALLEN PARK (WWJ) - Authorities closed a section of I-94 Downriver for hours after a semi-truck hauling garbage caught fire.

The incident unfolded around 6:30 a.m. Tuesday on westbound I-94 just west of the Southfield Freeway, M-39, in Allen Park.

Reporting from above the scene in Chopper 950, WWJ's Bill Szumanski said a semi-truck was burning.

"When they just did is have one of the firefighters get up on top of the trailer, it's one of those trash haulers with the canvas tarp on top, he's just peeled back this top and started with a rake just pushing the trash out of the truck, the trash that's burning, and on to the freeway where they're going to douse it down with some sort of a liquid to get the fire out," said Szumanski.

Other circumstances surrounding the incident weren't immediately clear.

Westbound I-94 was closed for about seven hours as officials cleared the scene of the spilled trash. Four box cars were loaded up during the laborious cleanup effort. The truck was eventually towed from the scene.

The roadway was reopened by 2:30 p.m.

For the latest from the roads, stay with WWJ Newsradio 950 during Traffic and Weather on the 8s, 24-hours a day. Check for recent incidents now on the CBS Detroit Traffic Page.