Video captures moment driver passes by collapsing I-95 overpass

Amazing video shows the moment the southbound lanes on I-95 began to dip following the northbound side’s collapse after a tanker truck burst into flames in Philadelphia on Sunday.

Retired Philly police Sgt. Mark Fusetti was heading to the Philadelphia International Airport on Interstate 95 around 6:20 a.m. when he spotted dark smoke plumes over the highway, initially mistaking them for a bushfire.

Video from inside his car shows the billowing smoke clouds engulfing the northbound lanes of the highway near the Cottman Avenue exit.

As Fusetti drives past the smoky archway, he appears not to notice that the northbound side of the overpass has completely collapsed.

And as he passes directly over the flames, he hits a sudden bump on the southbound side, which knocks his camera over.

“When I drove through it, I hit a bump, it felt like a bump. The bump I’m hitting is the southbound side of 95 that is now buckled,” Fusetti told CBS News on Monday morning.

“It felt like hitting a curb, too. That’s how low the highway was at the time that I went over.”


Video from the opposite side of the I-95 collapse shows the southbound lanes buckling due to the fire.
Video from the opposite side of the I-95 collapse shows the southbound lanes buckling after the nearby overpass crumbles.
Sgt. Mark Fusetti / Twitter

Mark Fusetti was startled by the bumpy road and said he thought the smoke was coming from a bushfire.
Retired local police Sgt. Mark Fusetti said he thought the smoke was coming from a bushfire.
CBS

Unbeknownst to him at the time, the northbound overpass had collapsed.
Unknown to southbound highway driver Mark Fusetti, the northbound overpass had collapsed.
AP

Officials said there have been no reports of injuries or fatalities as a result of the fire and collapsing roadway, although Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro noted Sunday that at least one vehicle was trapped beneath the rubble.

A tractor-trailer carrying “a petroleum-based product” caused the explosion that ended up collapsing the overpass, and lanes in both directions along the stretch of road remain closed because of the massive damage.

“With regards to the complete rebuild of [the] I-95 roadway, we expect that to take some number of months,” Shapiro said during a press conference Sunday. “We expect it to take that time, and we will have that specific timeline set forth once the engineers in Penn DOT have completed their review.”

Fusetti began filming when he saw the smoke plumes.
Fusetti began filming when he saw the smoke plumes.
Sgt. Mark Fusetti / Twitter
His car passed through the archway of smoke.
His car passed through the archway of smoke.
Sgt. Mark Fusetti / Twitter

The northbound side was completely engulfed by smoke, concealing the collapse.
The northbound side was completely engulfed by smoke, concealing the collapse.
Sgt. Mark Fusetti / Twitter

Officials scrambled to set up alternative routes for commuters after the busy highway was shut down.
Officials scrambled to set up alternative routes for commuters after the busy highway was shut down.
AP

He assured troubled commuters that he has been in contact with federal Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg to speed up federal funding to repair the busy stretch, which usually carries about 160,000 cars a day.

Pennsylvania Department of Transportation Secretary Mike Carroll urged drivers to be patient as the city works around the clock to provide alternative routes, given the calamity.

“It is our goal to be as quick in our response and our remediation of the challenges as we can,” he said. “The challenges will be real when it comes to traffic movement in the city as a result of this incident.

The Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority said the agency has added extra capacity and service to alternative routes along the city to help ease traffic.