The driver of a double semitrailer is reported to be in grave condition after he tried to outrun a train at a level crossing Wednesday morning near Ciudad Victoria, Tamaulipas.

The driver suffered burns over 60% of his body when his truck was hit by a train headed from Altamira, Tamaulipas, to Monterrey, Nuevo Leon, causing the fuel he was transporting inside the tankers to explode on impact. The driver was apparently traveling from Ciudad Madero to the capital of Tamualipas with 30,000 liters of diesel in each trailer.

The accident took place at 11:30 a.m. on the Libramiento Naciones Unidas, near El Olmo ejido in the municipality of Victoria.

The accident sent a huge billowing cloud of gray smoke into the air and blocked traffic on the highway for several hours while the area was secured, debris was removed and the driver was transferred to a nearby hospital.

The train driver, who was uninjured, said the semi tried to beat the train across the tracks.

With reports from El Mañana de Tamaulipas, El Heraldo de México  and Milenio