Staff Report

A Florida trucker was able to save himself and his tractor in the pre-dawn hours Friday morning when his trailer erupted in flames on Interstate 24 near the Coffee-Grundy County line.

The trucker, Nikeayla Matthews, 50, was heading east toward Monteagle Mountain on I-24 near mile marker 124 when he pulled over to check the trailer just after 3:15 a.m.

“The driver pulled over to check on the vehicle and noticed his trailer was smoking,” the Tennessee Highway Patrol report reads. “He then disconnected the truck from the trailer, and the trailer caught fire.’

The trailer, whose contents have not been revealed by authorities, was consumed by the blaze. The burning trailer prompted traffic disruptions that rippled all the way west to Manchester. The interstate was closed at Exit 114 at Manchester, and traffic was routed around. The interstate did not reopen until about 8 a.m. Friday.