SANTEE, S.C. — Drivers traveling along Interstate 95 Wednesday morning found themselves in gridlock following a complete shutdown of the highway after a watermelon truck caught fire.
Around 7 a.m. Wednesday morning, a tractor trailer caught fire, blocking all northbound lanes of I-95 near mile marker 101. That is near Lake Marion in Clarendon County. The incident caused all northbound lanes to close.
For Santee resident Henry Frazier, the shutdown brought traffic to a standstill he had never seen before.
"No, not like this, not in Santee. Man, it was rough this morning," Frazier said. "I had a dentist appointment across 95, so I parked my car about a mile and walked to the dentist because I knew I wasn’t going to make it to my appointment. So, that's where I'm at now, going to walk back to get my car. It’s been rough and really impacted us this morning."
Joe Pinto was traveling to work when he got stuck in traffic. "I've read the paper, email and Facebook, and I think I'm going to head back to Charleston and come back another day."
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Many drivers found themselves parked on exit ramps, while others turned around after hours of waiting.
However, Anthony Coppula and his wife, who were traveling from Florida to New York, took the gridlock in stride. "This isn't the first time, and I'm one that doesn't question why. I just go with whatever gets thrown at you and make the best of it."
Despite being stuck for hours, Coppula remained optimistic, acknowledging the long journey ahead. "It looks like we're about 13 hours or so." Thankfully, he said they were prepared.
"We always pack, I mean, but we didn't expect something like this," Coppula said. "But we packed some drinks and snacks and stuff like that that we've been munching on. But it's fine."
I-95 northbound has since re-opened.