Speeding wrong-way driver caused crash in Texas gas explosion: cops

The driver who triggered a fiery explosion in Texas early Wednesday morning was speeding the wrong way when they crashed into a gas line, according to police.

Moments before the smash-up in Mansfield, the vehicle was speeding south in the northbound lanes of Highway 360, the Mansfield Police Department said.

As the vehicle exited the highway around 1 a.m., it collided with a gas pipeline about 125 feet off the roadway. The impact set off a massive explosion.

The driver, who was not immediately identified, was flown to the burn unit at Parkland Hospital with serious injuries, Jeff Smith, a spokesman for the fire department told The Post.

Karina Buruca Kunda and her husband watched as the flames lit up the night sky near their home just outside Dallas.

“My husband walks further into the yard and he gasps, and I’m thinking maybe it’s a plane or something because you just hear this whooshing noise, and so we step out and the whole neighborhood is like daylight outside,” she said.

The explosion released gas into the air, prompting the evacuation of residents within a one-mile radius. The gas was shut off remotely and allowed to burn off, the Mansfield Fire Department said. Once the air quality was deemed safe, residents were allowed to return to their homes.

Charges against the driver are pending the outcome of the investigation, the Mansfield Police Department said.