Rodney Stevens
All lanes of the M1 Motorway at James Creek near Maclean were closed last Friday morning after a fiery B-Double crash that the driver was lucky to escape from without serious injuries.
Emergency services were alerted to the crash about 6.10am on March 15 after reports that a northbound B-Double truck had left the road, crashed, and caught alight near the Farlows Lane overpass, about 2km north of the Ferry Park exit.
Police, Fire and Rescue NSW units from Grafton, Maclean, and Yamba, Rural Fire Service brigades from Brooms Head, Gulmarrad, Glenugie, Iluka, Lawrence, Woombah, NSW Ambulance paramedics, SES Maclean volunteers and Transport for NSW staff responded to the incident and when they arrived the truck was well alight.
Emergency services immediately got to work to extricate the driver from the burning cab.
When Fire and Rescue NSW tankers ran out of water, they were able to transfer vital supplies from RFS tankers to extinguish the blaze.
A NSW Ambulance spokeswoman told the CV Independent the driver, who was reportedly aged in his mid-20s, was treated at the scene by paramedics for a back injury before being transported by ambulance to Lismore Base Hospital.
The NSW RFS said the truck wasn’t carrying anything flammable, only car parts and building supplies.
Fire fighters quickly established barriers around the site to prevent any contaminants from entering nearby waterways.
The crash site shows marks on the grass between the north and south lanes of the Motorway for about 200 metres, before the truck came to rest and caught fire, with both trailers between the bridges of the Farlows Lane overpass.
The Motorway was closed in both directions just after the crash, with traffic being diverted through Maclean and onto Yamba Road where vehicles could rejoin the Motorway at Harwood.
At 9.30am on Friday there was one lane open in each direction on the Motorway and motorists were advised to take caution around the area and allow for extra travel time.
Police are investigating the circumstances surrounding the crash.