Fiery Florida Tanker Wreck Leaves Four Dead

Dennis Grimsley stood horrified on the Interstate 595 shoulder, witness to the colossal, flaming gasoline tanker accident that killed four people and left authorities Saturday night trying to identify their remains.

''It just looked like an ocean of fire, like some biblical something, some Hell event,'' said Grimsley, 47, a visiting Oakland, Calif., businessman who provided The Herald with a photograph.

The deadly inferno late Friday night, which raged for more than two hours, looked like a scene from a Hollywood disaster movie, he said.

A gasoline tanker carrying 9,000 gallons of fuel had flipped and exploded on top of a car on the entrance ramp to Florida's Turnpike from I-595.

The 18-wheeler's driver, Flavio F. Santisteban, 33, of Hialeah, was on fire when he managed to get out. He jumped into a lake beside the highway in Davie, suffering burns to his face, neck and arms.

He was taken to the hospital by helicopter. Santisteban's condition improved to fair condition Saturday night at Broward General Medical Center in Fort Lauderdale.

His tanker belonged to Floval Oil Corp., 2990 NW 24th St., in Miami.

An unidentified occupant of the car that became entangled in the blazing accident was able to flee the vehicle, run down a 50-foot embankment and jump into the same lake that Santisteban had used.

''According to witnesses, he was on fire,'' said Florida Highway Patrol spokesman Lt. Pat Santangelo.

THE DEATHS

Firefighters later found the man dead in the lake. BSO divers searched the lake for any other victims.

When workers from the Broward County medical examiner's office arrived at the scene, they concluded that at least two people had died in the car, Santangelo said.

On Saturday, the medical examiner said still another person had died in the car, bringing the death toll to four, Santangelo said.

Authorities have not been able to identify any of the car passengers or their vehicle. The car's license plate was charred, as were any documents inside.

''The heat was so intense that it melted the aluminum body of the tanker-trailer,'' Santangelo said. ``Aluminum flowed down the exit ramp.''

Only the tanker's frame and the tire rims remained once the fire was extinguished.

''It looked like a decaying carcass of an animal,'' said Davie police spokesman Lt. Bill Bamford.

The unmistakable smell of smoke was missing.

''It was eerie,'' Bamford said.

The FHP fielded calls from across the country Saturday from people who wondered whether the inferno that began at 10:30 p.m. Friday had claimed relatives, friends or co-workers.

According to the FHP, the tanker was in the right lane and the car was just ahead of it in the left lane when they entered the two-lane curve to get onto the northbound lanes of the turnpike.

The tanker's driver lost control of his vehicle.

The tanker left more than 30 feet of skid marks -- evidence of heavy braking -- before flipping on its left side and landing on top of the car. The tanker, entangled with the car, slid 30 or 40 feet and then pinned the car against a guardrail on the left side of the road. The tanker burst into flames.

KEPT BACK BY FLAMES

Witnesses said there were several explosions. Some motorists wanted to help any potential victims but were driven back by the flames, Santangelo said.

Santisteban had just left Port Everglades with 7,000 gallons of gasoline, 1,000 gallons of diesel fuel and 1,000 gallons of premium gasoline in his 2005 Mack tanker, according to the highway patrol.

Oscar Blanco, a dispatcher at Floval Oil Corp., said Santisteban had been a driver for Floval Oil for a year and a half.

All drivers undergo ''rigorous training'' before getting behind the wheel of a tanker rig, and Santisteban was no exception, Blanco said. A clean driving record is also a condition of employment, he said.

''He's been a great driver, no accidents, no tickets, nothing,'' Blanco said Saturday afternoon.

However, records show that Santisteban has had 11 driving citations in Miami-Dade and Broward counties since 2002. Most of those were dismissed, except for two seat-belt violations and a ticket for driving 80 mph in a 55 mph zone in Davie in 2003. Most recently, he was stopped Dec. 4 for speeding; Santisteban pleaded not guilty and has a hearing set for next month.

Driving records also show that Santisteban's license was valid at the time of Friday's accident. He is certified to drive a tractor-trailer containing hazardous materials, records indicate.

A Floval Oil driver was also involved in a 1997 fatal crash on the Dolphin Expressway near Miami International Airport. The driver braked to avoid a car when the truck flipped. An unknown motorist dashed across four lanes of traffic cutting the tanker driver off, witnesses said.

The tanker, carrying more than 9,000 gallons of gasoline, exploded. The driver later died.

Tanker trucks frequent roadways leading to Port Everglades, the arrival point of most of gasoline sold in South Florida.

OTHER TANKER WRECKS

In 1999, a tanker truck carrying more than 8,000 gallons of gasoline crashed on I-595 near U.S. 441, killing the driver and closing the interstate.

Three years ago on Interstate 95, two couples from St. Louis and their cab driver died when the taxi burned beneath a fuel tanker truck and a flatbed truck.

The truck drivers walked away from the accident.

The horrific I-595 accident around 10:30 Friday closed part of the Broward County expressway for several hours. Once the fire was out, several turnpike ramps reopened.

The ramp from I-595 to the northbound lanes of the turnpike, where the accident occurred, didn't reopen until 4 a.m. Saturday.

Guardrails along the ramp melted and were replaced by the Department of Transportation on Saturday. Portions of the pavement on the ramp shoulder were also repaired, prompting a lane closure.

The Florida Highway Patrol is investigating what caused the fatal accident.

The driver's blood will be checked for alcohol and illegal substances as part of the investigation, Santangelo said. Charges are pending.