DETROIT – Part of Southfield Freeway had closed in Detroit on Monday after a semi truck driver knocked over a fire hydrant, causing it to leak and flood the road.
Water flowed from a broken fire hydrant onto Southfield Road and the Southfield Freeway at Plymouth Road on Monday, Jan. 15. The rushing water was freezing quickly due to subzero wind chills, forcing authorities to shut down both sides of the freeway on Monday at the height of rush hour traffic.
The freeway has since reopened, though it appeared traffic was moving a bit slower in that area on Tuesday morning. View our real-time traffic map here.
Surveillance video from a gas station caught the driver of a semi truck, apparently transporting La Croix goods, crashing into the fire hydrant as they attempted to take a shortcut through the gas station to get around a red light. After the fire hydrant was knocked over, the driver continued on their path through the gas station parking lot.
You can watch the surveillance footage in the video player up above.
Staff at the Citgo gas station said they heard the noise and went outside to see what happened. About two minutes after the fire hydrant was detached, water started spewing from the water main it was connected to, a staff member told Local 4.
The gas station’s lot had flooded in addition the roadway and the freeway. The semi truck driver had not stopped to alert anyone about what happened before driving away.
It was not immediately clear if police were searching for the driver, or if they’d be held responsible for what happened.
Crews were working Monday to help get the gas station up and running normally after the flood. The fire hydrant remained detached and was roped off Monday night.