Remains pulled from I-95 wreckage as tanker driver is ID’d

Human remains were recovered Monday from the rubble of the I-95 overpass destroyed by a weekend tanker fire in Philadelphia.

The body was discovered in the cab of the truck as workers cleared the wreckage of the overpass near the busy highway’s Cottman Avenue exit, according to the local ABC affiliate.

Officials have yet to announce the identity of the victim.

Family members ID’d the truck driver as Nathaniel Moody, 53, and said he is still unaccounted for.

Moody, who works for a trucking company based in Pennsauken, NJ, is an experienced trucker, kin said.

Officials reiterated that they are waiting for a report from the medical examiner’s office before confirming the identity of the found body.

They added that there are no plans to open a criminal probe into the crash and highway collapse and that they are working with Moody’s company to investigate the exact cause of the disaster.

Officials said during a Monday press conference that the driver was attempting to make a gas delivery at a local Wawa station when he failed to accurately navigate a turn near the Cottman exit.

This led to the tanker flipping on its side, with the truck carrying 8,500 gallons of gas erupting in flames and shutting down I-95.

Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro has issued a disaster declaration over the collapse, which also caused severe damage to the southbound lanes, leading to demolition of part of the roadway Monday to clear up the area for reconstruction.

Despite the assurance that the rebuilding process would be expedited, with the state and federal government pledging to provide the funding needed, authorities gave no timeline as to when the stretch of highway will be restored.

Rep. Brendan Boyle, who represents the Philadelphia area, described the highway, which stretches from Maine to Miami, as among the busiest in the nation and a pivotal roadway for commerce in the mid-Atlantic.  

“I dare you to find a more densely populated 40- to 50-mile area around I-95 than right here where we’re standing,” he said during the Monday conference beside the wreckage. “People are going to be impacted from New York City to well south of here.”