Monday afternoon, Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro issued a disaster declaration to help speed-up a rebuild of the portion of I-95 that collapsed Sunday morning. Officials say the collapse will impact drivers from as far north as New York to as far south as Miami for months to come. A body has since been recovered from the wreckage. NBC10’s Rosemary Connors has the latest details from the investigation while NBC10’s Karen Hua has reactions from drivers.
A body was recovered from the rubble a day after a tanker truck fire caused a portion of I-95 to collapse in Northeast Philadelphia, leading to an emergency declaration from Pennsylvania's governor.
On Sunday, around 6 a.m., a tanker truck exiting I-95 onto Cottman Avenue lost control while navigating a turn at the end of the exit, according to investigators.
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The vehicle -- which was carrying about 8,500 gallons of gasoline -- then turned onto its side before it ruptured and eventually exploded, officials said.
Fire from the explosion caused an elevated section of I-95 to collapse. Responding firefighters were eventually able to get the flames under control.
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Officials closed I-95 in both directions between the Aramingo and Woodhaven exits.
At about 2 p.m. Monday, a spokesperson for the Pennsylvania State Police said remains had been pulled out of the rubble, but said that the body has not yet been "positively identified."
Officials said that the victim's remains had been turned over to the Philadelphia County Medical Examiner and Coroner's office.
A representative of the Pennsylvania State Police said that officials are waiting for confirmation before providing any other details.
No other vehicles are believed to have been involved in this crash, officials said.
What we know about the victim
While investigators have not yet identified the victim, family members identified the man as 53-year-old Nathaniel Moody.
Family described Moody as a hardworking and married father of three children who was an Army veteran from the Philadelphia area, owned his own truck and had been driving trucks for a decade.
"My cousin is a hardworking man. Family man. Good husband and father to his wife and daughter," Moody's cousin, Alex Moody, told NBC10. "We've always been cool and tight. He's very mild mannered. Calm guy. Really calm person. He gets along with everybody."
Family members said Moody drove the same route in and around the I-95 ramp all the time. They also told NBC10 he had a spotless driving record and delivered gasoline to Wawa stores across the region.
NBC10 reached out to the trucking company Moody worked for but they declined to comment.
Declaring a disaster
On Monday morning, Gov. Josh Shapiro issued a disaster declaration because of the roadway's collapse. This declaration is intended to help funnel state and federal funds to reconstruction efforts.
Still, in a visit to the site on Sunday, Shapiro noted that reconstruction efforts will likely take "some number of months."
"I found myself thanking the Lord that no motorists who were on I-95 were injured or died,” Shapiro said on Sunday.
Shapiro also spoke with President Joe Biden on Monday who reaffirmed the federal government's commitment to provide any necessary resources to repair I-95 safely and efficiently, a spokesperson for his office said.
New traffic reality with I-95 closed
While the drivers of an estimated 160,000 vehicles that normally take I-95 during any given weekday had to find an alternate route due to the roadway's collapse, traffic was moving relatively steadily on Monday.
While there were reports of slowdowns citywide, at the start of rush hour at about 7 a.m., the longest delay at the time was about 29 minutes for those headed eastbound along I-476 toward I-676.
Also, in order to deal with the disruption that months of construction will likely have on travel -- and traffic -- throughout the region, SEPTA added additional trains to its schedule.
Alternate routes for I-95
There were other routes available for those traveling into the city from Northeast Philadelphia or Trenton, N.J.
Click here for the full list of alternate routes.
Searching for clues in the rubble
At the site of the collapse, crews worked long hours overnight to clear tons of rubble and debris that remained following Sunday's collapse of the northbound lanes of I-95 at Cottman Road in Northeast Philadelphia.
Officials have declined to provide the identity of the company that owned the tanker truck that caught fire. NBC10 reached out to the company but they declined to comment.
On Sunday, the incident evolved quickly. Initially, commuters on the highway could see smoke and flames near the Cottman Avenue on-ramp. Then, at about 6:15 a.m. on Sunday, shortly after the roadway was closed due to the fire, the northbound lanes collapsed onto the truck below.
After the incident, Philadelphia Fire Department Capt. Derrick Bowmer said the northbound lanes of I-95 were gone and the southbound lanes were "compromised" by heat and fire.
He said that the cleanup would take some time.
"We will be here for a while," he said.
Demolition planned
According to Pennsylvania Secretary of Transportation Mike Carroll, an inspection of the site has shown that the southbound lanes will need to be demolished.
The demolition began Monday and should take four to five days, Carroll said. A timeline for the next steps in the reconstruction process will be revealed once engineers complete their initial review, officials said.
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Prior to the incident, the overpass that collapsed was listed in good condition, according to Carroll.
Asked how PennDOT plans to proceed with reconstruction efforts in the coming days, Carroll said they are working on a plan of attack.
"We want to pick the solution that provides us the quickest but safest remedy," said Carroll.
Also, Monday morning, federal investigators with the National Transportation Safety Board arrived at the scene of the collapse to work on response efforts.
Officials said that NTSB investigators began "gathering data about the truck, and contacted the motor carrier about its fleet operation."
NTSB officials said that a preliminary report on their findings should be available in 2-3 weeks on the NTSB’s website and posted to the agency's Twitter account.
This is a breaking news story. It will be updated as new information becomes available.
