A tanker transporting diesel fuel north on Interstate 95 tumbled off the road and burst into flames at about 10:16 a.m., fatally injuring the driver.
Carroll R. Langston, 61, of Clayton, died Monday evening at the North Carolina Jaycee Burn Center in Chapel Hill.
The tanker, registered to Daughtridge Oil Co. of Rocky Mount, was carrying 9,000 gallons of diesel fuel when it crashed and expoded.
The Highway Patrol said initial investigations indicate that Langston may have been going too fast.
Northbound lanes reopened at about 11 a.m. on Tuesday.
North and southbound lanes of I-95 were closed for much of Monday and traffic was detoured. Southbound traffic resumed Monday afternoon.
It took more than three hours for the fire to burn itself out, melting asphalt off the top the highway and leaving a crater 8 inches deep.
State road crews removed the scorched pavement and resurfaced the roadway before the DOT gave the all clear and traffic was able to resume.
DOT engineer Bryant Bunn said the Highway 70 bridge above the exit did not suffer damage, and there are no problems with the newly paved surface.
DOT crews moved soil contaminated by foam used to fight the fire and diesel fuel.
Fire crews said they did not use foam earlier in the fire due to runoff that could have forced the closure of southbound lanes.
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