Fiery wreck on I-40 spills whiskey onto highway, snarls traffic in central Arkansas

This photo posted on the Arkansas Department of Transportation Twitter account shows a wreck on I-40 that caused whiskey to spill across the highway on Thursday morning.
This photo posted on the Arkansas Department of Transportation Twitter account shows a wreck on I-40 that caused whiskey to spill across the highway on Thursday morning.

A collision between two tractor-trailers on Interstate 40 in central Arkansas caused one of them to catch fire and spilled Fireball whiskey across the highway.

The westbound lanes remained blocked at 12:40 p.m., about two hours after the crash occurred west of the Kerr exit.

Trooper Liz Chapman, a spokesman for Arkansas State Police, said injuries were reported in the crash, though they were not believed to be serious. There were conflicting reports on whether one or both trucks caught fire.

In addition to the whiskey, one truck spilled "produce of some sort" and at least one of them leaked diesel fuel onto the highway, Chapman said. Photos released by the Arkansas Department of Transportation showed the cab of one truck heavily damaged by fire and miniature bottles of Fireball Whiskey strewn across the lanes. The agency tweeted at 11:55 a.m. that crews will "be working this for a while."

Chapman said she had no estimate on when the westbound lanes would reopen.

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