Fuel truck rolls on I-91, blows up

A diesel tanker truck rolled over and exploded on Interstate 91 near Chicopee in a wreck that sent fireballs and thick black smoke into the air and shut down the highway.

The truck driver, who was initially trapped in the cab, was hospitalized with critical burns. Witnesses said more than a dozen people tried to free the man, some carrying blankets and jackets to smother the blaze.

The blast and fire swept over cars and pushed the truck partially off an overpass, said Peter Judge, a spokesman for the Massachusetts Emergency Management Agency. One other driver had minor injuries.