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Fiery Zakim Bridge Truck, Car Crash Kills Chelsea Cab Driver

BOSTON (CBS/AP) – A 54-year-old taxi driver from Chelsea was killed in a fiery truck and car crash on the Zakim Bridge early Monday morning.

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The tractor-trailer and a vehicle crashed and burst into flames around 5:30 a.m. in the northbound lanes of I-93 on the bridge prior to exit 27.

Zakim Bridge
An aerial view of a truck crash on the Zakim Bridge. (WBZ-TV

Police shut down the northbound lanes and traffic was backed up for miles. The southbound side remained open, but it was slow.

State police said Debra Sarno was driving a 2006 Ford Crown Victoria owned by Malden Taxi when for some reason she stopped in the right travel lane and was struck from the rear by the tractor-trailer.

Sarno was pronounced dead at the scene. There was no passenger in the cab.

The truck driver, Joseph Maldonado, 47, of Manchester Conn., sustained minor injuries and was taken to Massachusetts General Hospital. The tractor-trailer, which was carrying produce, is owned by M&M Produce of Hartford,Conn.

The Boston Fire Department had the fire out about 7 a.m.

The circumstances of the crash remain under investigation by state police reconstruction experts. No charges have been filed at this time.

TM and © Copyright 2014 CBS Radio Inc. and its relevant subsidiaries. CBS RADIO and EYE Logo TM and Copyright 2014 CBS Broadcasting Inc. Used under license. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)

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