Hall County, GA : N.C. man dead after tanker crashes and burns on I-985 in Hall County on Wednesday morning, December 16, 2015

All lanes of Interstate 985, in Hall County, have reopened after a fatal wreck involving a tanker truck that caught fire Wednesday morning.

The crash was reported just after 6 a.m. near Exit 16, according to the Department of Transportation.

All lanes were blocked for hours as the overturned tanker was engulfed in flames.

According to Georgia State Patrol, the driver was ejected when he tried to negotiate a right curve while traveling in the left lane of northbound I-985. The driver lost control and hit the guardrail, and the tanker flipped on its side, then hit an embankment and a median.

The driver died, authorities said.

Troopers said they are working to confirm the victim’s identity to release.

The truck was fully loaded with cement that spilled across the northbound lanes of the interstate.

“Not only did we have to upright the vehicle, then we’ve got pieces of cement laying in the road, guardrails are all tangled up,” Georgia State Patrol Cpt. Allen Marlowe said.

GSP told Channel 2’s Audrey Washington that the impact of the crash was so great that it shifted a bridge. A DOT inspector made sure the bridge was safe for travel.

An investigation is underway to determine if the driver of the tractor-trailer was speeding at the time of the crash.

“There was a witness that said the truck passed him prior to the crash, and the witness said that he was going 75, and the truck passed him, so speed is definitely a possibility,” Marlowe said.

Officials said they will continue to interview witnesses and examine the crash site.

Source :

N.C. man killed after tanker hits median, embankment in fiery crash on I-985