Hurst police seeking witnesses in RaceTrac tanker explosion

Police are looking for people who saw a RaceTrac fuel tanker explode at 4:30 a.m. Dec. 19, killing the driver and shutting down Northeast Loop 820 for several hours.

The driver, Daniel Clifton, 50, was pronounced dead at the scene at 4:33 a.m., according to the Tarrant County medical examiner’s office.

The tanker truck crashed in a grassy area in the 100 block of southbound Northeast Loop 820. The tanker rolled over and stopped upside down and was completely on fire when first responders arrived, Hurst Battalion Chief Mark Gray previously told the Star-Telegram.

Clifton died of burns, the medical examiner reported.

A nearby motel was evacuated for a short time as a precaution, Gray said.

The manner of Clifton’s death was ruled accidental, but on Monday Hurst police released a statement asking for anyone who witnessed the rollover to call the department’s accident reconstruction team at 817-788-7149.

People with information may also email the team at pdcrashteam@hursttx.gov.

This report includes material from Star-Telegram archives.

Monica S. Nagy

This story was originally published May 9, 2016 at 8:50 PM with the headline "Hurst police seeking witnesses in RaceTrac tanker explosion."