NEAR REPUBLIC, Mo. (KY3) - Fifty-five years ago, on Sept. 30, 1970, a striking trucker fired gunshots at semis driving on Interstate 44, leading to an explosion just west of Springfield.

The Missouri State Highway Patrol had an archived aerial picture of the damage to the interstate on Thursday. It shows a giant crater 50 feet wide and 30 feet deep, impacting both directions of I-44.

The suspect fired shots at trucks that were driven by people who had crossed the Teamsters Union picket line. One bullet hit a semi-trailer hauling 21 tons of dynamite, which caused the explosion. The explosion killed the driver, a father of four from Oklahoma City. The blast was so powerful that it shattered windows in Springfield, according to the Missouri State Highway Patrol.

The shooter had been senten

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