The “probable cause” of the 2023 I-95 crash and overpass collapse in Northeast Philadelphia was the tanker truck driver’s excessive speed on the exit ramp, the National Transportation Safety Board said in its final investigative report published Thursday.

The driver’s failure to slow down was “due to inattention to the roadway potentially associated with fatigue”, and the severity of the fire was attributed to the driver’s failure to close a hatch—also possibly because he was fatigued—that allowed gasoline to spill out, the NTSB said.

Surveillance video from three stops the driver made before the crash showed the hatch was improperly open. The tanker was carrying 8,500 gallons of gasoline.

From the report:

​We determined that the probable cause of the Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, combination vehicle rollover crash, postcrash fire, and subsequent Interstate 95 overpass collapse was the driver’s failure to slow the vehicle as he exited the interstate onto the exit ramp well above the posted advisory speed limit, due to inattention to the roadway potentially associated with fatigue. Contributing to the severity of the postcrash fire was the driver’s failure to secure the vehicle’s manhole cover during his pretrip inspection, which enabled the gasoline that was being transported to quickly enter the environment and spread throughout the crash area.​

A temporary fix allowed the bridge to be reopened in 12 days, and a full rebuild was completed less than a year later.

Nathan Moody, 53, of Willow Grove, was killed in the June 11, 2023, crash.

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Feature photo: NTSB