Semi Catches Fire on I-72 Tuesday Morning

By Jeremy Coumbes on April 19, 2022 at 5:12pm

The Illinois State Police and Winchester Fire Department responded to a call of a tractor-trailer that caught fire this morning.

According to a report by Illinois State Police District 20, at approximately 7:40 am today a green 2007 Sterling semi-truck pulling a load of new vehicles was traveling eastbound on Interstate 72 near mile marker 51.

The driver told police he heard a tire blow out and saw pieces of the tire on the roadway so he then got off at the Winchester exit 52 and parked on the shoulder of the eastbound on-ramp from Old Route 36.

The driver said he then saw a fire coming from the front tires on the driver’s side. He was unable to contain the fire after attempting to put it out with a fire extinguisher. The Winchester Fire Department arrived and was able to extinguish the fire.

Illinois State Police say no further information on the incident is available at this time.