BATON ROUGE - A truck driver died after being found inside the cab of a burning 18-wheeler late Monday night.

Fire fighters say the fatal incident is still being investigated, but a preliminary analysis revealed that the driver suffered a medical emergency while behind the wheel, which caused the accident and lead to the fire. 

Authorities were called to the scene of the accident, which was on Airline Highway near the Choctaw intersection, shortly after 10 p.m.  

They say the burning tanker truck was running and in gear when they arrived. The truck had been hauling petroleum, but had very little product left.

Investigators believe the fuel tank was ruptured in the crash, and that fuel leaking from the tank sparked the fire. 

While working to extinguish the fire, rescue workers found someone in the cab of the truck. The person was not responding, firefighters said.

Despite CPR and the efforts of paramedics, the person could not be resuscitated.

The name of person was not released.

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