MARQUETTE, MI – (Great Lakes Radio News) – State Police at the Gladstone Post responded to a semi-truck fire early this morning in Delta County that shut down US-2 for about three hours.
The truck fire was called in around 5:40 a.m. on US-2 about a mile south of Rapid River. The driver of the truck, 56-year-old Robert Lustila of Germfask, told Troopers he was hauling a full load of logs along the highway when he heard a loud bang. After pulling over and getting out of the truck, he saw four-foot flames shooting out of the exhaust stack and from under the hood of the truck.
Lustila was unable to get back into the truck to get a fire extinguisher due to heavy smoke and flames. He was not injured in the incident.
The truck, owned by WJZ & SONS, was a total loss and the trailer with the load of logs was transferred to another truck. US-2 was closed down for about 3 hours as traffic was re-routed down Bayshore Drive.
The cause of the fire remains under investigation.
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