Drunk Driver Causes Truck Explosion On Florida Turnpike

A truck exploded on the Florida Turnpike after police say a drunk driver slammed her car into it near Glades Road in Boca Raton, Florida.

The truck driver, Carlos Soto Jr., said that the car was swerving and that he told his coworker he wanted to pull over and let her pass. He did that and parked, but the car hit them anyway and they caught on fire.

Soto says at first he could not get his seat belt off. He felt an incredible heat, but his door was closed and his seat belt had locked up on him.

He and two passengers in his truck were able to escape with only minor injuries. The Florida Highway Patrol troopers arrested Nina Rodriguez of Boynton Beach and charged her with DUI and failure to drive in a single lane. The police report says her blood alcohol level was .116. and that she admitted to drinking.

A witness, Urbano Vargas, said Rodriguez looked intoxicated and was slurring her speech. Vargas was in a furniture moving truck with AJ Torres, who filmed the crash. Torres said that their first reaction was to jump out and make sure everyone was okay and to move everyone away from the truck in case it exploded.