Morning traffic backed up on Circle Drive after semi goes up in flames

Traffic was backed up on Circle Drive Tuesday morning after a semi crashed into a light post and went up in flames. Keenan Sorokan on what commuters witnessed.

Traffic was backed up on Circle Drive for over an hour on Tuesday morning after a semi collided with a light post near Millar Avenue.

Firefighters were called to the scene just after 7 a.m., arriving to find the cab of the semi up in flames, according to a news release from the Saskatoon Fire Department.

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Brad Hutchinson was on his way to work just before 7 a.m. moments after the crash happened.

As he approached Millar Avenue and Circle Drive, he says a police officer driving by turned on his lights, pulled over and helped a bystander pull the driver from the vehicle and get him away from the truck.

Hutchinson noticed steam rising from the truck’s engine. He says within a few minutes the entire truck was engulfed in flames.

“You don’t get too many chances to see a truck burn to the ground,” he said. “A couple of our staff members were kind of going outside and checking it out as the fire got put out. The fire department got it out pretty quick.”

Circle Drive Eastbound was closed until mid-afternoon to allow first responders to clean up the scene, with traffic rerouted via Venture Crescent.

Abhiney Kaplish was one of the many vehicles stuck in traffic as Saskatoon’s morning commute along its busiest road grinded to a halt with the road closed in both directions. The salesman at O’Briens Automotive says he was in traffic for half an hour longer than usual wondering what the issue was.

“As soon as I got in, I was like, oh shit, man. I saw this big accident. This truck completely burned out. It was crazy,” he said.

Sitting at his desk with the wreck right outside the front of the business, Kaplish got an up close view of a crane picking up the light standard as crews chopped the massive pieces of metal into smaller pieces.

“I’ve never seen something this big. I’ve seen truck accidents before, but this was huge,” he said.

Just down the street, the normally busy David’s Restaurant had just one customer during the morning hours.

Rachelle Franklin, who got to work after being in traffic for more than an hour, looked on as vehicles slowly moved through the area for most of the day and largely avoided the restaurant.

“It’s crazy just how many people are caught in traffic for hours,” she said. “Businesses are definitely affected by the lack of movement on Circle Drive.”

The scene was cleared and traffic restrictions were lifted by 2:40 p.m., according to the Saskatoon Police Service.

Police believe the driver suffered a medical event and no charges are anticipated.

The water used to put out the burning truck has since frozen, creating a significant road hazard.

The city says sanding trucks were sent in to mitigate the risk, but sections of the road remains icy.

“Drivers are also reminded to reduce speed, allow for extra stopping distance and adjust driving to current road conditions.”