Semi driver flees, leaving truckload of potatoes burning on a Tri-Cities highway

A semi truck hauling potatoes met a fiery end Sunday night after the driver was reported driving erratically on Highway 395 in Pasco.

The blue and white truck was speeding, driving without his headlights and going in the wrong lane before the suspected drunk driver turned onto the highway near the King City Truck Stop, said Franklin County sheriff’s officials.

Emergency dispatchers were called about the erratic driver about 6:30 p.m.

Police were able to use spike strips to flatten the truck’s right front tire, but it continued north on Highway 395 to Foster Wells Road then turned around and headed in the opposite direction in the southbound lanes, said the sheriff’s office.

The driver finally stopped just south of the Kartchner Street overpass where it was engulfed in a fireball, showed the Facebook post.

The driver ran away but was later arrested by Pasco police. His name was not released.