COLUMBIA COUNTY, Pa. — UPDATE: The Interstate reopened around 3 am.
Flames could be seen shooting several feet in the sky as PennDOT crews worked to empty a tanker truck hauling propane gas.
The truck went over an embankment along Interstate 80 West near the border of Montour and Columbia County.
Happening just before noon on Monday, thousands of drivers were forced off the interstate to find a different way around.
"As I came off the highway I realized that there had appeared to have been an accident or a road closure because of all of the specifically trucks that were all backed up slowly heading to the south," said Tom Sanft, Minnesota.
"We were coming off the exit, coming up here at the end; it was backed all the way up. All the way up until we got to this light here. We just saw semi trucks and cars and everything," said Zachary Laity, Mount Carmel.
It was stop-and-go traffic for hours along Route 42 South in Columbia County as many people tried to take a 12-mile detour from Bloomsburg to Danville.
"42 is the short way; I was stuck for maybe one hour for one mile. All the highways are closed. Just stuck," said Yakov Rafael, truck driver.
After being stuck on I-80 West for hours and then getting stuck again on the detour, Yakov Rafael canceled his pick-up in Ohio and decided to stop for the night, hoping to get back on the road when the highway reopens, "I'll wait for the morning. The next day, maybe 4 in the morning, 5," he said.
Pennsylvania State Police say that the closed stretch of Interstate 80 West will reopen when the crash site is cleared.
Two people who were inside the truck at the time of the crash suffered minor injuries; they are expected to be OK.
A detour using Route 42, Route 11, and Route 54 is in place.
Check real-time conditions with the WNEP Traffic Tracker.
PennDOT updates are available HERE.
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