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by IKIMULISA LIVINGSTON and BILL SANDERSON
Nearly a dozen parked cars caught fire as the flames spread down the block.
The driver of a fuel tanker was killed yesterday when his truck flipped over and burst into flames on busy Bruckner Boulevard in The Bronx.
The tanker fell onto its side and caught fire after hitting a retaining wall, sending plumes of smoke high into the air around Hunts Point and blocking traffic for miles.
The driver, Harbey Muñoz, 46, of Queens was pronounced dead at the scene.
The tanker was so badly burned that the company name on its side was illegible, making it difficult to immediately identify Muñoz.
It was later determined that he worked for Model Fuel Transport.
Muñoz was "a God-fearing, churchgoing, devoted husband and father," said Maribel Gonzalez, 35, who attends the same Corona church as he did.
Muñoz, who was born in Colombia, leaves a wife of 25 years and two sons, she said.
The accident, near Hunts Point Avenue, was reported at about 2 p.m. and quickly went to three alarms.
The fire destroyed 11 parked cars and also spread to the exteriors of four nearby buildings.
One other person was taken to Lincoln Hospital with minor injuries.
More than 140 firefighters battled the blaze.
They had to douse the street with foam and dump mounds of sand to soak up the diesel fuel.
"They were great," said Ivan Freire, the owner of a nearby fruit stand who watched New York's Bravest at work. "They had that whole thing under control in, like, six minutes."
The accident was a few blocks north of a busy intersection at Hunts Point Avenue.
"All you saw was smoke and a few flames," said Luis Correa, 23, who works at the BP gas station at that intersection. "At first, I thought it was terrorists, because you never know nowadays."
Amtrak service between Penn Station and New Haven was suspended for several hours, as was service on the No. 6 subway line.
And drivers on Bruckner Expressway were caught in an hours-long jam.
"I've been in this traffic for two hours," said a man who identified himself only as John. "I'm very frustrated, but it could be worse: I could be stuck in an elevator."
Streets near the accident will be closed for today's morning rush, police said. It was unclear early today if the Bruckner Expressway would reopen.
For some drivers, time meant money — lost money — for others.
"I have to get this cab to my partner," said a driver of a yellow taxi who asked not to be identified.
"I'm 45 minutes late — which means he's 45 minutes late to start his shift."
Additional reporting by Ed Robinson and Joe McGurk
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