1 dead, 2 injured when semi explodes after interstate crash

Kansas trucker killed when rig explodes after Oklahoma crash

MULHALL, Okla. (AP) – A Kansas truck driver was killed and one person was injured when the trucker’s 18-wheeler exploded after colliding with another semi on Interstate 35 in northern Oklahoma.

The Oklahoma Highway Patrol says Dwight Handley Jr. of Belle Plaine, Kansas, was dead at the scene of the crash just east of Mulhall.

An OHP report says Handley was northbound when his rig collided with the rear of another northbound semi that had pulled partially off the interstate because of a mechanical problem. The report says Handley’s rig then caught fire and exploded.

Troopers say the driver of the other semi was not injured, but that a man who was trying to help Handley suffered serious leg injuries when he was struck by flying debris from the explosion.