A butane tanker truck pulling a small trailer also loaded with the liquid fuel broadsided a van Wednesday, bursting into flames hours later and causing explosions in two homes. Only the van's driver was injured, but about 1,500 people had to be evacuated from the area.
The accident happened about 4:30 p.m. on U.S. 89 in Kaysville when the truck lost its brakes, said Davis County sheriff's Capt. Kenneth Payne said. The truck and trailer went off the road into a field.
The van driver was reported in serious but stable condition at a Salt Lake City hospital. Family members said he had a chipped shoulder bone and a concussion.
Over the next several hours, fumes from the butane leaking from the 7,000-pound tanker seeped into a house and ignited, Payne said. He said the explosion was possibly touched off by a pilot light in the house.
Flames shot back to the tanker and set off the fuel, sending flames 100 feet into the air. Emergency workers feared a vapor explosion but that did not occur, Payne said.
