VALDOSTA – A semi-truck caught on fire and was completely destroyed Wednesday on Interstate 75, but the driver was unhurt and says he is thankful that he made it out in time.

At approximately noon, Youvone Smith was travelling south on I-75 after making a delivery in Tifton. Between mile markers 22 and 23, his truck suddenly auto-braked and emergency lights came on. Smith pulled the truck over, and he noticed flames coming from under the hood. Within 30 minutes, the entire truck was gone.

“All my personal stuff was left,” Smith said in an interview with WCTV’s Noelani Mathews. “I don’t have anything other than what you see.”

Smith said he knows he made “the right choice” by not trying to retrieve his personal items.

I-75 southbound traffic was completely shutdown for almost two hours. Lanes began to slowly re-open around just before 2 p.m.

The cause of the fire is currently unknown. Smith said his truck passed an annual inspection one week ago.

Read more from WCTV.