Driver Killed After Tanker Overturns and Explodes in Maryland

A tanker containing an unidentified flammable liquid overturned and caught fire on a highway in Frederick, Md., on Saturday, killing the driver and damaging multiple vehicles and homes, the authorities said.

No other fatalities or injuries were reported in the crash, the Maryland State Police said.

The fire, which sent enormous flames and plumes of smoke billowing above homes, caused Route 15 to be temporarily closed in both directions between Route 50 and 7th Street.

The Frederick County fire chief, Tom Coe, said at a news conference that one house on Apple Avenue, which runs parallel to Route 15, had “extensive damage” that made it uninhabitable.

He said officials were searching for a place for the residents to stay. Two other homes had minor damage, he said. Three cars were also damaged.

Emergency services began receiving calls about the fire around noon local time, he said. The fire was under control about 40 minutes after emergency responders were first dispatched. The fire was extinguished before 3 p.m.

The tanker was carrying a “flammable liquid,” Chief Coe said, but he did not specify what kind.

The Maryland Department of the Environment, the Frederick County Department of Fire and Rescue’s hazardous materials team and the city of Frederick’s Department of Public Works were on the scene, Chief Coe said, and “confirmed that the hazardous materials involved in the incident are contained.”

He said that officials were still investigating the cause of the crash but that they believed only one vehicle was involved. He did not say who owned the tanker.

Donovan Pannell, 26, said that he had just started driving on Route 15 when he saw the tanker, which was about a quarter-mile away and heading toward him, start to veer.

It crashed seconds later, Mr. Pannell said, causing an explosion that made his ears pop. He said that people immediately left their cars and headed toward the crash to help.

Traffic slowed, creeping forward and taking Mr. Pannell past the crash site.

“I was on the opposite side of the lane and I could feel the heat from the inside of my car,” he said. “It was like my face was near a campfire.”

Witnesses shared dramatic footage that showed enormous gray plumes of smoke and balls of fire above a residential neighborhood.

Matthew Cappucci, a meteorologist, said on Twitter that the smoke plume reached “about 3,600 feet high,” according to the National Weather Service Doppler radar.

The crash happened a month after a train carrying toxic chemicals derailed in East Palestine, Ohio, which is about 200 miles northeast of Frederick County. That crash ignited a fire that covered the town in smoke, causing residents to fear for their health and the safety of the environment.