Oftentimes, tanker trucks haul cargo that is extremely dangerous should the truck get into an accident. Unfortunately, many people's safety rest in the hands of truck drivers, and all too often simple mistakes lead to fatal accidents. Luckily, no one was killed in an accident involving a tanker truck hauling jet fuel and a jeep on Highway 114 in Roanoke, Texas, on Aug. 23.

However, the accident led to major traffic disruption and the wrecked tanker burned about 5,600 gallons of volatile jet fuel for nearly five hours, billowing out smoke that could be seen from miles away.

The accident occurred mid-afternoon when the tanker truck collided with a jeep. Reportedly, the entire front end of the jeep was crunched in and the tanker truck immediately went up in flames following the collision. Police did not comment as to who was at fault in the wreck.

Amazingly, no one was seriously hurt in the accident, and both drivers were able to walk away from the crash. A passenger in the jeep had to be taken to a local hospital for treatment of non-life threatening injuries and is expected to fully recover.

The accident took place on Highway 114 at Highway 377, close to the Texas Motor Speedway, so patrons and workers in a Waffle House across the street had a front row seat to the action.

"You would think with that much heat and flame that it'd burn out fast, but it's still burning," a Waffle House patron said.

"It's so hot and so intense, I could almost feel the heat inside here," he told reporters from his booth overlooking the burning tanker truck.

A 40-year employee at the Waffle House restaurant added that it was "pretty remarkable that all this happened and no one got hurt."

Source: KHOU - Houston, Texas, "Tanker burns for 5 hours after Texas wreck," Jason Whitley, Aug. 23, 2011.