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Thick, black smoke rose from the scene of the accident.

FATAL CRASH ON I-35

Craig Civale reports

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CARROLLTON — A female motorist was killed in a fiery multi-vehicle accident on Interstate 35E Wednesday afternoon.

According to initial reports, two cars were parked on the shoulder of the southbound lanes near President George Bush Turnpike when they were struck by an 18-wheeler around 1 p.m. The big rig jackknifed, struck a cement barrier and overturned.

The cab exploded in flames, but another trucker raced in to help the driver of the burning vehicle escape.

A 52-year-old woman who was in one of the parked cars later died of her injuries.

A man who witnessed the accident got out of his vehicle and pulled the 64-year-old driver of the semi-truck out of the burning cab, police said. Both of those men were taken to Parkland Hospital for burns. The semi-truck driver is in critical condition.

The names of the dead and injured were not available.

Three police officers suffered heat exhaustion and were treated at the scene.

The ramp from Bush Turnpike to I-35E was shut down and southbound traffic on I-35 was diverted to Bush Turnpike.

E-mail ccivale@wfaa.com