Hero Truck Driver Takes Burning Truck To A Remote Area Before It Explodes, Killing Him

A commercial truck carrying chemicals used as fertilizer exploded Wednesday on a highway in Arkansas, killing its driver. And while authorities are still investigating the situation, people are already calling the man a hero. At the time of his death, 63-year-old Randall McDougal was trying to extinguish the flame after refusing to abandon the vehicle and taking it away from populated areas.

According to Arkansas State Police, the remains of Mr McDougal of El Dorado were recovered from the site along U.S. Highway 278 west of Camden, east of the Nevada – Ouachita county line near Arkansas Highway 57.

Reportedly, Mr McDougal was transporting ammonium nitrate when his brakes caught on fire. He noticed the fire and called 911. He then proceeded to take the vehicle to a remote area and parked it where there were no houses or buildings. But even then Mr McDougal wouldn't give up. While first responders were evacuating houses, he was trying to put out the fire. However, the tanker exploded, blowing a 15-foot (4.5-meter) crater in the road and killing him on site.

A one-mile perimeter has been set and areas near Highway 278 and Highway 57 have been evacuated. "It looks like a bomb went off," Camden Fire Chief Robert Medford told the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette. "There's a big hole in the ground on where the truck was at."

Another driver who's known online as Bam Bam the trucker shared the story and it has already received over 48k reactions and shares. People are sending their prayers to the family, calling Mr McDougal a hero for putting his life before others.

The Arkansas Department of Transportation said crews would begin repairing the crater once the wreckage from the accident was cleared. The affected road is a low-volume road that carries about 1,300 vehicles per day, department spokesman Danny Straessle said.

According to Melody Daniel, a spokeswoman for the Arkansas Department of Emergency Management, officials haven’t yet determined what caused the truck to catch fire. Also, three injured firefighters were brought to the hospital for their injuries, and two were later released, she said.

Camden Fire Department Assistant Chief Ron Nash said the force of the blast tore the tops of the surrounding pine trees and shattered the windshield of a fire truck and a Camden Fairview School District bus.