FREDERICK, MD—Maryland State Police have identified the man who died following a tanker truck explosion last Saturday in Frederick County.

The victim has been identified as Ronald Leroy Heiston Jr., 58, of Smithsburg. At just before noon on Saturday, March 4, troopers responded to Route 15 North, approximately a half mile north of Rosemont Avenue in Frederick, for a report of a single-vehicle crash with a fire.

According to a preliminary investigation, Heiston was driving a tanker truck with approximately 8,650 gallons of gasoline from Manassas, Virginia to Taneytown, Maryland. For unknown reasons, Heiston’s vehicle left the right side of the road, struck a tree, and caught fire. Heiston was pronounced dead at the scene. He was transported to the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner in Baltimore, where positive identification was made.

Investigators said six homes and five vehicles sustained damage from the fire that originated from the tanker truck crash. No other injuries or fatalities were reported as a result of the crash or the subsequent fires. Route 15 was temporarily closed in both directions following the crash.

The Office of the State Fire Marshal and the Maryland Department of the Environment were notified and responded to the scene. Personnel from the Maryland Department of Transportation’s State Highway Administration also responded and established detours around the area.

The crash remains under investigation.

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