Three killed as speeding car hits tractor-trailer carrying herbicide in Philadelphia

http://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2015/dec/20/tractor-trailer-herbicide-car-crash-philadelphia

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Authorities said a speeding car slammed into a parked tractor-trailer carrying herbicide early on Sunday morning, killing three people in north-east Philadelphia.

Officers called to the Holmesburg neighborhood shortly after 2.30am reported both vehicles engulfed in flames. Police said the car went airborne over the crest of a hill near an intersection before hitting the unoccupied truck head-on. All three occupants of the car died.

Captain Anthony Ginaldi said a witness reported hearing people screaming inside the car but could not reach them because of the flames.

Ginaldi said: “With the holidays coming up, it’s a tragic loss of life, and for what?”

Ginaldi said the tractor-trailer was carrying herbicide, and a hazardous materials crew was called to clean up that and spilled fuel. Another nearby tractor-trailer caught fire in the crash.