Grape truck destroyed in I-95 fire

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A tractor-trailer driver escaped serious injury Tuesday after an 18-wheeler caught fire on Interstate 95 in Wilson County.

Guevara Marcelino of Coral Gables, Florida, was hauling a load of grapes when the fire broke out about 12:30 p.m.

Marcelino pulled the truck onto the I-95 South shoulder about 100 yards south of the U.S. 264 Alternate interchange.

“He saw the smoke and pulled over,” said North Carolina State Highway Patrol Trooper J.M. Lamm.

Chief Hunter Barnes of the Sims Volunteer Fire Department said flames were showing from the truck and trailer when first responders arrived.

“We had water on it in a minute,” Barnes said.

It took about another 7 or 8 minutes to get the fire under control.

Between 22 and 25 firefighters from the Sims, Contentnea, Silver Lake and Bailey volunteer fire departments and Wilson Fire/Rescue Services fought the fire.

The southbound lanes of Interstate 95 were closed while firefighters extinguished the flames.

The fire burned through both the cab and the trailer’s roofs. Grapes spilled out onto the highway.

“It’s totaled, the produce and the truck,” Lamm said.

The Wilson Police Department and the Wilson County Sheriff’s Office assisted at the scene.

The N.C. State Highway Patrol is investigating the fire.

Ronnie’s Truck Service Inc. responded to haul off the hulk of the burned-out truck and trailer, which are owned by RL Express USA LLC of Miramar, Florida.

The southbound lanes of I-95 remained closed for more than four hours as crews mopped up the debris.

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