A truck fire destroyed the cab of a semi-trailer and caused traffic gridlock on the Princes Freeway near Werribee on Tuesday morning.
The semi-trailer carting a load of soybean meal was travelling city-bound just past the Duncans Road exit shortly after 9am on April 30 when the driver noticed smoke coming from the dashboard.
After pulling over into the emergency lane and bringing the truck to a stop, the engine and front cab of the vehicle burst into flames, engulfing it in fire and thick black smoke.
The driver, the only occupant of the vehicle, tried to uncouple the trailer from the truck, but abandoned the attempt when heat from the fire became too intense.
He was unharmed.
Emergency services arrived on the scene at about 9.20am and fire crews from the Werribee CFA took about 10 minutes to bring the blaze under control.
“Firefighters were able to prevent the fire spreading to the contents of the trailer,” said incident controller Lieutenant Sean Cross from the Werribee CFA.
“The truck was completely destroyed but the trailer and contents are safe.”
The cause of the fire is still to be determined.
The Princes Freeway city-bound was reduced to one lane while the fire was brought under control, with traffic backed up to Little River.
All lanes have since reopened and the remains of the truck have been towed from the scene.
