Loose Bomb Squad Trailer Under Investigation

Apr 24, 2009 9:13 pm US/Eastern

Loose Bomb Squad Trailer Under Investigation

Apr 24, 2009 9:13 pm US/Eastern

numSlides of totalIma

Police are promising to get to the bottom of what they call a "very dangerous situation" – an accident involving the city's bomb squad trailer.

The 7,500-pound bomb squad trailer somehow broke free near the exit ramp from Bigelow Boulevard Thursday.

No one was hurt.

Public Safety Director Mike Huss says he's concerned.

"This is a dangerous situation and we need to be able to tow this vehicle around but we've got to make sure that this doesn't happen again," he said.

Public safety experts are painfully aware. It's happened before.

In April of 2006, an improperly installed, 6,000-pound wood chipper broke free from a truck on Route 8, killing a Cranberry man and two of his three triplets.

Last December on Route 19, a trailer came loose from a truck, killing an Ellsworth woman instantly.

It's a problem so severe that Pittsburgh Police have conducted trailer safety seminars for commercial vehicles.

Agencies from around the region have made trailer safety and enforcement a top priority.

Investigators will determine how the Pittsburgh bomb squad trailer broke free and make changes before it's used again.

"We gotta make sure first of all that everyone's trained properly, that the equipment's working properly and that something like this never happens again," Huss said.

(© MMIX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)

Runaway trailer seriously hurts teen driver.... In Kentucky Again....

April 21, 2009

Runaway trailer seriously hurts teen driver

Staff report

RINEYVILLE — A local teen was seriously injured Monday night in a wreck on Ky. 1600 just west of Rineyville.

According to Kentucky State Police, Kaela N. Vessels, a 17-year-old Vine Grove resident, was westbound on Rineyville Road around 9 p.m. when a 12-foot utility trailer broke loose from an eastbound tow vehicle and struck the 1998 Monte Carlo Vessels was driving head-on.

Vessels initially was taken to Hardin Memorial Hospital and later was airlifted to Kosair Children’s Hospital in Louisville for treatment of life-threatening injuries, police stated in a news release.

Kosair Children’s Hospital spokesman Bryan Reublen said the hospital listed Vessels in serious condition as of Tuesday morning.

Brandenburg resident, William L. Mills, 47, was driving the Honda minivan from which the trailer disconnected. Mills suffered no serious injuries, according to police.

As of noon Tuesday, no charges had been filed in Hardin District Court in connection to the wreck.

Kentucky State Police say they continue to investigate the crash.

Another Loose Trailer Destroys Guardrail

NOTE:

Look at the condition of the TRAILER.

These Trailers never get inspected!!! No Federal Standards Exist for any Trailer under 3,000 pounds GWR.

Local News

A Couple of Crashes Apr 17, 2009

On Thursday, a trailer being pulled down the Bypass decided to go its own way. It came loose from the truck pulling it and crashed through the guardrail. A few hours and a little help from a tractor and it was cleared.

Teens killed in I-40 crash Second in Two Weeks

Staff Reports • published April 17, 2009 6:05 pm

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ASHEVILLE – A 15-year-old boy died and a girl suffered critical injuries after the truck in which they were riding rolled over Friday on Interstate 40.

That crash led to another crash on I-40 that sent six people to the hospital, including two rescued from a fiery car by good Samaritans.

The first crash happened about 1:30 p.m. on I-40 westbound near the Oteen exit, N.C. Highway Patrol Sgt. Greg Dills said. The father of the children was driving a Dodge Durango and lost control when the 30-foot travel trailer he was towing began to sway back and forth, Dills said.

The Durango overturned and landed on a guardrail, Dills said. The 15-year-old, identified as Michael Courtright, was dead at the scene. A 14-year-old girl remained in critical condition late Friday at Mission Hospital, Dills said.

The teens were traveling with their parents, and their father was driving, Dills said. The trooper who investigated the crash was unavailable late Friday afternoon, but law enforcement at the scene said the family was from Wisconsin. The parents did not suffer any serious injuries, Dills said.

Troopers will consult with the District Attorney's Office about possible charges, Dills said, and troopers will try to determine whether the boy was wearing a seat belt.

As traffic backed up from the crash, a 1992 Pontiac driven by Rebecca Allison struck a Dodge pickup truck in the rear, Trooper D.F. Pressley said. The crash happened about 2:50 p.m. near the 62 mile marker.

Pressley said it did not appear Allison attempted to stop her vehicle before the crash. Pressley estimated Allison's speed at about 65 mph at impact.

Good Samaritans rescued Pressley and a 7-week-old baby from her vehicle, which was engulfed in flames when Pressley arrived at the scene. Pressley and the infant were taken to the hospital along with the Dodge driver Gene Hutson, 68, of Eden, and three passengers in his truck. None of the injuries were considered life threatening, Pressley said.

Please note:

This is just a tragic accident.

Please ask yourself as you read this news article.

What training is required before you tow a trailer?

What condition was the trailer in?

Was the Trailer over 3,000 pounds?

Was the trailer inspected?

Was the hitch defective? We had defective hitches being used across this country
and no recalls has been issued.

Virginia State Government is Silent and has done nothing to address... go here
to view what the Virginia State Crash Team Stated back in 2006.
http://www.dangeroustrailers.org/uploads/TA14new.pdf

Father, son die in King George crash

A father and son have both died as the result of an accident that occurred when the pickup truck they were riding in went out of control and crashed head-on into an oncoming tractor-trailer, state police said.

Date published: 4/11/2009

A father and son have both died as the result of an accident that occurred when the pickup truck they were riding in went out of control and crashed head-on into an oncoming tractor-trailer, state police said.

Richard W. Carpenter Jr., 58, and Richard W. Carpenter III, 26, were both pronounced dead at Mary Washington Hospital following the crash on State Route 206 in King George County, state police spokesman Sgt. Tom Cunningham said.

According to Cunningham, the accident took place at 2:36 p.m. about two miles west of Indiantown Road. The two men and the younger Carpenter’s 4-year-old daughter were heading east in a 1994 Ford F-150 pickup truck that was pulling a large utility trailer.

The elder Carpenter hit his brakes after the utility trailer ran off the road to the right, police said. As he tried to regain control, the trailer, which did not have an operational braking system, caused the truck to cross the center yellow line. There it ran head-on into a 1998 flatbed tractor-trailer hauling industrial supplies. The impact caused the trailer to be detached from the pickup truck, Cunningham said.

The tractor-trailer driver, who was not charged, was treated for minor injuries at the hospital. Hailey Carpenter, 4, also suffered minor injuries and was treated at the hospital.

The road was closed for a significant amount of time as police and rescue workers tended to the injured and investigated the crash. The younger Carpenter man and his daughter were flown to Mary Washington, where he died several hours later.

Police said none of the Carpenters were properly restrained in the pickup. Trooper A.M. Bowen investigated the crash.

--Keith Epps