PORT ALLEN, LA : A deadly crash involving two 18-wheelers that caught fire on April, wednesday 19th 2017

A deadly crash involving two 18-wheelers that caught fire left parts of I-10 closed for about six hours Wednesday.

Louisiana State Police reported at least one person was killed in the crash on I-10 East near LA 415 in Port Allen around 5:30 p.m.

Troopers said they don't yet know how the wreck, which caused the fire, started. I-10 was shut down in both directions for several hours while crews worked to extinguish the fire and clear the wreckage.

All lanes were reported open around 11:30 p.m., but it took nearly another hour-and-a-half before all of the backups cleared. Crews later blocked the right lane to clean up debris from the side of the interstate. The closure did not cause any major backups.

Officials said the wreck involved five vehicles, including two 18-wheelers, and seven people. One person was killed and the other six suffered minor to moderate injuries.

Among the hundreds of people stranded on the interstate was a group of students from Sam Houston High School in Lake Charles. Officials said 160 band students were stuck on three buses for more than five hours. The students are headed to Disney World in Florida to perform at the Magic Kingdom. They did their best to pass the time.

"We understand what happened, but you're with a group of high school kids, so you can imagine how that is on a bus," said Terry Gould, the school's band director. "Just watching TV, talking, playing cards, whatever we're having to do. We're just hungry."

LSP said the cause of the crash is still under investigation. Troopers added the driver of one of the two big rigs could end up facing charges.

Source :
LSP: 1 dead in crash involving two 18-wheelers that burst into flames