Friday, March 26, 2010

Man guilty of animal cruelty...Tied Horse To Trailer



Man guilty of animal cruelty


LEXINGTON — A Kearney man has been found guilty of felony animal cruelty after police say he dragged a horse behind his trailer last summer.

Tyler Brockman, 22, pleaded no contest Friday in Dawson County District Court to one count of felony cruelty to an animal resulting in injury or death.

Judge James Doyle ordered Brockman to undergo a presentence investigation to be conducted by the state probation department.

Sentencing will be in May. Brockman faces up to five years in prison.

Brockman had participated in the annual July 4 rodeo at Sumner. Court records said after the rodeo, he went to the bar and drank what he later told a counselor was five to six beers before leaving.

Before entering the bar, Brockman had tied a horse to the back of his stock trailer. After leaving the bar, Brockman left in the pickup and drove through Sumner with the horse still tied to the back of the trailer.

Brockman dragged the horse for about a mile before a person stopped him just east of Sumner. The horse was put into the trailer, and Brockman left the area.

Brockman was stopped later that evening in Buffalo County and arrested for driving under the influence of alcohol. The horse was found dead July 6 on a farm north of Funk in Phelps County. — World-Herald News Service

Nurse Dies In Vietnam Vets Blvd. Wreck Vanberbilt Nurse Killed After Leaving Work; Son Prepares For NCAA Tournament







Nurse Dies In Vietnam Vets Blvd. Wreck

Vanberbilt Nurse Killed After Leaving Work; Son Prepares For NCAA Tournament

POSTED: 6:08 am CDT March 15,2010
UPDATED: 9:59 pm CDT March 15,2010

A local nurse who is the mother of a Murray State basketball player was killed Monday morning after a Dumpster came loose from a truck on Vietnam Veterans Boulevard.
Related: 6 p.m. Report | Images | Noon Report | Morning Report


At about 5:30 a.m., an Allied Waste Services truck lost its trailer, which was carrying an empty Dumpster, according to investigators. This caused a chain-reaction crash involving a tractor-trailer and a car. When that load detached, two cars smashed into the trailer.One of the drivers, Vanderbilt nurse Freeda Simmons, 50, died from her injuries at about 7:30 a.m.Minutes after the first round of collisions, the driver of a tractor-trailer carrying Pepsi products smashed into the empty Dumpster and hit a retaining wall.

There was no indication that any of the drivers were impaired at the time of the wreck.Investigators with the Tennessee Highway Patrol are trying to determine whether or not the Allied Waste trailer was properly attached.D ocuments show that this is the first wreck of its kind that the company has had in the past decade.The other drivers involved are expected to survive.

Murray State Player Will Travel To Game Despite Loss
Of Mother Simmons' son is a Murray State basketball player, whose team plays in the first round of the NCAA tournament this week against Vanderbilt.Murray State spokesman Dave Winder told The Associated Press that Simmons' son, Picasso Simmons, is planni ng to go to the Racers' game Thursday. The Murray, Ky., team is leaving Tuesday for San Jose, Calif., where the NCAA West Regional game will be held.Winder said Simmons' mother, who ran track and field at Murray in the early 1980s, had been happy her son was going to the tournament and that he wanted to honor her by going with the team.


Emergency Room Nurse Killed On Way Home From Work By Loose Trailer







Emergency Room Nurse Killed On Way Home From Work


Posted: Mar 15, 2010 6:18 PM EDT Updated: Mar 15, 2010 6:54 PM EDT

By Amanda Hara

NASHVILLE, Tenn. - Freeda Simmons left Vanderbilt's emergency room as a nurse and returned as a patient after a crash on Vietnam Veterans Boulevard in Gallatin Monday morning. Despite their best efforts, co-workers could not save her.

The 50 year old had been a nurse at Vanderbilt for seven years.

"She was a great woman of faith. She was a great woman that just loved her patients, loved the staff, and the staff loved her. The physicians loved her. The nurses loved her, and it's been real hard," said Emergency Services director Gary Howard.

Early Monday morning, Freeda graced her patients and left for home, but never made it.

She was caught behind an Allied Waste Services truck that lost its dumpster container. Police said her Honda Prelude slammed into the loose trailer.
Two Semis Crash, Closing Vietnam Veterans Boulevard

The Tennessee Highway Patrol is investigating whether the tractor trailer was properly hitched.

"Freeda was an amazing nurse. I mean we need more like her. I would get lots and lots of compliments on how comforting and how inspiring and how reassuring it was to have Freeda taking care of them," said Howard.

Simmon's ran track and field for Murray State in the 80's. Her son Picasso plays basketball for the University. He said he will still go to the NCAA tournament on Thursday in her honor.

E-mail: ahara@newschannel5.com



1 dead in Vietnam Vets pileup


1 dead in Vietnam Vets pileup

Allied Waste truck and Pepsi among vehicles in the crash



By Eric Miller • Hendersonville Star News • March 15, 2010

One woman was killed and another person injured in a multiple-car pileup on Vietnam Veterans Boulevard early Monday morning.

According to Hendersonville police, an Allied Waste truck lost a trailer, resulting in the crash at approximately 5:20 a.m. The truck was traveling eastbound on Vietnam Veterans.

The trailer became detached from the cab of the truck, according to Mike Browning, Tennessee Highway Patrol spokesman.

Two vehicles, a 1999 Honda Prelude and a 1998 Mazda minivan struck the trailer, causing the empty dumpster container being hauled on the trailer to fall into the road, resulting in a second crash when it was struck by a Pepsi truck, Browning said.

The driver of the Honda, 50-year-old Freeda J. Simmons, of Gallatin, was transported to Vanderbilt Medical Center. She was pronounced dead at 7:34 a.m., Browning said.

Jada Pratt, 29, of Goodlettsville, driver of the minivan, was transported to Hendersonville Medical Center, where she was treated and released.

The driver of the Allied Waste truck, Darvin C. Mann, 53, of Charlotte, was uninjured, as was the driver of the Pepsi truck, 57-year-old Jimmy L. Hanserd.

THP’s Critical Emergency Response Team also responded to the crash scene, and an investigation is ongoing.

“A post-crash inspection is being conducted on the tractor-trailer as part of the ongoing investigation, to include whether the dumpster container was adequately secured,” Browning said.

Alcohol is not believed to be a factor in the crash at this time.

All lanes were reopened by 7:43 a.m., Browning said.

Reporter Eric Miller can be reached at 575-7115 or ebmiller@mtcngroup.com.

Tuesday, March 23, 2010

Tow hitch crashes through car windshield, narrowly misses small child




7:10 a.m.

Tow hitch crashes through car windshield, narrowly misses small child

statesman journal • February 18, 2010

A 29-year old Milwaukie man and his six-month old son are alive and well after a freak incident Wednesday when a loose trailer hitch bouncing on the road north of Canby crashed through their vehicle's front windshield, Oregon State Police troopers said.

The tow hitch hit the man's chest and forearm and then nearly struck the child in his car seat before coming to rest in the back of the vehicle.

The incident happened around 4:30 p.m. on Highway 99E near milepost 18.

Authorities say Eric Provost, 29, was headed northbound on the road in his 2005 Mazda Tribute, when a tow hitch suddenly bounced off the highway in front of his vehicle and crashed through the left side of the windshield.

"The tow hitch hit the steering wheel with such force that it bent the steering wheel, then it hit Provost's chest and left forearm before striking the ceiling as it missed his son seated in a car seat on the center rear seating area," said OSP Lt. Gregg Hastings.

Provost was taken by a medical helicopter to Oregon Health Sciences University. His injuries are non-life threatening, Hastings said.

The child was not injured, he said.

The investigation has not determined what vehicle the trailer hitch came off from before hitting the car, Hastings said.

PDX Traffic.. Hitch Through Windshield





Tow Hitch Crashes Through Front Windshield Hitting Driver, Narrowly Missing Small Child - Highway 99E north of Canby (Photos)

News Release from: Oregon State Police
TOW HITCH CRASHES THROUGH FRONT WINDSHIELD HITTING DRIVER, NARROWLY MISSING SMALL CHILD - HIGHWAY 99E NORTH OF CANBY (PHOTOS)
Posted: February 17th, 2010 10:07 PM

A 29-year old Milwaukie man and his six-month old son are lucky to have survived a freak incident Wednesday when a loose trailer hitch bouncing on the road north of Canby crashed through their vehicle's front windshield. The tow hitch hit the man's chest and forearm and then nearly struck the child in his car seat before coming to rest in the back of the vehicle.

According to Oregon State Police (OSP) Trooper Jose Cortez, on February 17, 2010 at approximately 4:30 p.m. a 2005 Mazda Tribute driven by ERIC J. PROVOST, age 29, from Milwaukie, was northbound on Highway 99E near milepost 18 when a tow hitch suddenly bounced off the highway in front of his vehicle and crashed through the left side of the windshield. The tow hitch hit the steering wheel with such force that it bent the steering wheel, then it hit PROVOST's chest and left forearm before striking the ceiling as it missed his son seated in a car seat on the center rear seating area.

PROVOST was seriously injured and transported by LifeFlight to Oregon Health Sciences University. His injuries are non-life threatening.

The child was not injured.

OSP troopers were assisted by Canby Fire Department, Canby Police Department and ODOT.

The investigation has not determined what vehicle the trailer hitch came off from before hitting the car.

Photograph Source: Oregon State Police

### www.oregon.gov/OSP ###

Freak accident: Tow hitch crashes through man's windshield









Freak accident: Tow hitch crashes through man's windshield


by KGW Staff

Posted on February 18, 2010 at 11:13 AM


MILWAUKIE, Ore. – A Milwaukie, Ore. man is recovering from a freak accident along Highway 99. A tow hitch broke off a trailer ahead of him and flew into his car.

The hitch crashed through Eric Provost’s front windshield as he drove down the highway.

It had come loose from a trailer ahead of him and then bounced on the road before hitting Provost’s car. The hitch hit his steering wheel and then hit him in the chest. But Provost was thankful that it didn’t also hit his son in the back seat.

Provost’s injuries were not life-threatening. At last report, he was listed in fair condition at Oregon Health and Science University.


MALAKOFF WOMAN INJURED.... B y Loose Trailer


MALAKOFF WOMAN INJURED

March 16, 2010

88-year-old victim taken by air ambulance after collision on State Highway 198

Athens — An 88-year-old woman was flown to a Tyler hospital for injuries suffered when a van slammed into a boat trailer on State Highway 198 near Caney City, Sunday afternoon.

The trailer came loose from the pickup towing it, Texas Department of Public Safety Trooper James Martin said.

Henrietta Milliken of Malakoff remained in East Texas Medical Center, Tyler, Monday afternoon. She was in intensive care with her condition listed as fair, a hospital spokesman said.

Trooper James Martin said the wreck occured just before 6 p.m. when a 2004 Dodge pickup, driven by James Calvin Foster, 56, of Payne Springs was heading south on State Highway 198.

A 2005 Dodge Caravan, driven by Sue Milliken LaPhrop, 62, of Malakoff, approached Foster, traveling north with Henrietta Milliken as a passenger.

That’s when the trailer broke free, rolled into the northbound lane, and hit the Caravan head on.

Numerous rescue personel were called to the scene. PHI Air Medical transported the injured woman to the ETMC trauma unit.

None of the other occupants of the vehicles required hospitalization. The wreck remains under investigation.

TRAGEDY: Gerber boy, 7, run over by father with trailer


TRAGEDY: Gerber boy, 7, run over by father

A tragic accident has left a 7-year-old Gerber boy dead – killed when his father ran over him with a trailer he was pulling behind a pickup truck on Thursday.

Mario Gonzalez died en route to St. Elizabeth’s Hospital in Redding, shortly after the 7 p.m. accident on a private driveway off Truckee Avenue north of Costa Avenue, the California Highway Patrol reported.

“Apparently, they were on their way to feed some livestock,” CHP Officer Phillip Mackintosh said.

When Sergio Gonzales Nino, 38, stopped the pickup to open a gate to the property, his son apparently climbed out of the sliding back window to the cab, and climbed down between the back of the truck and the utility trailer.

“When Mr. Gonzalez re-entered the pickup and continued forward, the 7 year old was run over ...” the CHP stated in its report.

Alcohol or other extenuating circumstances do not appear to have played a part in the accident, Mackintosh said.

“The investigation is ongoing, of course, but at this time, we do not have anything like that,” the officer said.

Crash kills 2 outside Jamestown



Crash kills 2 outside Jamestown

Two people from Michigan died after a rollover crash east of Jamestown Tuesday morning, according to the North Dakota Highway Patrol. The patrol said a 2006 Chevrolet pickup was pulling a bumper-hitch camper westbound on Interstate 94 at 7:15 a.m. Tuesday, when it slid off the roadway into the water-filled north ditch about three miles east of Jamestown and rolled. The trailer disconnected from the pickup and both came to a rest on their tops.

Two people from Michigan died after a rollover crash east of Jamestown Tuesday morning, according to the North Dakota Highway Patrol.

The patrol said a 2006 Chevrolet pickup was pulling a bumper-hitch camper westbound on Interstate 94 at 7:15 a.m. Tuesday, when it slid off the roadway into the water-filled north ditch about three miles east of Jamestown and rolled. The trailer disconnected from the pickup and both came to a rest on their tops.

Driver Harold Mattmiller Jr., 59, Mendon, Mich., was wearing a seat belt. It was unknown if his passenger, William McGehee, 55, Kalamazoo, Mich., was wearing a seat belt, the patrol said.

Both were removed from the vehicle and transported to Jamestown Hospital by Jamestown Ambulance, the patrol said. They were pronounced dead at the hospital.

The patrol said the roadway was covered in frost at the time of the crash.

The pickup and trailer sustained a combined $50,000 in damage from the crash.

The Boat With No Name




Updated: March 18, 2010, 6:54 PM ET
The Boat With No Name
By Don Barone
Bassmaster.com
Archive

Don BaroneThe aftermath of Jared Lintner's wreck on I-5 on the way to Clear Lake.
"It's not always easy and
sometimes life can be deceiving ... "

Dateline: In A Crowd

I was born a people.

I still am a people.

Me being a people is why I write about people. It's that circle of people thing.

As long as there are people around, I don't need TV. The best entertainment on earth is probably the people standing right next to you. You get to people watch, and there's no cable bill.

My first news director, in a fit of frustration, asked me, "So what is it that you do like to write about."

db: "People."

Boss: "What kind of people."

db: "Well you know, the kind of people who are, you know, a ... PEOPLE."

My TV reporter contract there wasn't renewed.

If you know me, or even if you don't, you know, or maybe you don't, that I don't yell much. If you ask my wife, Barb, most of my yells occur around nails and hammers, and Buffalo Bills games.

I did yell at a boss once, and in the few minutes between him being my boss and me being his ex-employee, I wrote down what I yelled. Again I was asked what it is I want to write about and I shouted this in the newsroom:

"I think that somehow while we are covering the human race we have left the humans out of the race."

Me and two other reporters in the newsroom wrote that shout down. I saved it and put it above my desk ever since. I don't know what the others did with theirs. I hope they are writing about humans.

I don't write about boats, I write about the people in them. I once was sent to do a car story, and only wrote about the dude driving the car, in fact, forgot to mention what kind of CAR it was he was driving.

I didn't have a long automobile writing career.


So, while I'm out here following around the Bassmaster Elite guys, I don't, you know, do much looking at the, uh, fish.

I hang out with the people of BASS.

The family BASS.

People.

Family.

Last week, Elite angler Jared Lintner was involved in a car accident while driving from the Delta tournament in Stockton, Calif., to the Clear Lake tournament.

Upon hearing of the accident, the people of the family of BASS, stopped what they were doing and came to Jared's rescue.

Those humans, in the human race.

" ... I'll tell you one thing,
it's always better when we're together"

Better Together
Jack Johnson

The wife report

I didn't get the police report ... I talked to Jared's wife, Keri.

At a dinning room table in a rented house, Keri told me that there is a long history between her and Jared. "We knew each other in Elementary School. In fact both of Jared's parents went to school with my father."

They started dating in 1990. I was polite and didn't ask Keri exactly how far removed that was from Elementary School, mainly for my benefit of not feeling really old. Love happened, and they were married in 1995. They have three kids, and quite possibly pets.

For the next few minutes while you read this, whenever you see quotes, that would be Keri talking, I just wrote stuff down, didn't talk.

"Normally I drive behind Jared, for some reason this time I was in front of him, but I could see him in my rear-view mirror. I had just told him I loved him and he told me he loved me too, and we took off to Clear Lake."

"I had just passed an exit on I-5 and lost sight of Jared behind me, but I figured he would catch up to me soon enough ... and then my cell phone rang."

It was Jared. And this is exactly what he said to Keri: "I just rolled the truck and boat."

"I knew it was serious, because his voice cracked when he said it."

Keri had just passed an exit so she had to go a couple of miles before she could jump off I-5 and head back ... her young daughter, Allese, sitting in the front seat with Keri had heard what her dad had just said, and was getting more and more upset by the mile.

"I finally got to an exit and pulled a U-ey, and headed back to Jared, as we passed by the accident I could see the truck and boat all tangled up in a ditch and, you know, my heart sank."

"I hit the next exit and started heading to him but by that time the traffic was all backed up, so I started driving down the shoulder of the road but the 18-wheel trucks started to block me from passing them, so, I just stopped, put the SUV in park, and got out and ran down the highway to Jared .... and JC."

"JC" is Jared Christopher Lintner, Jr. ... 8 years old, third grade, and in the truck with his father Jared.

"When I got there both Jared and JC were standing by the truck, so I was really happy to see that, but as soon as JC saw me he broke down, so I took him back to the SUV, wrapped him in a blanket and just held him."

Jared and JC pretty much just had bumps and bruises. JC was checked out at a hospital and released. I had a chance to talk to JC about the accident, the next two paragraphs are his.

"I was freakin'."

"I hit my head and sometimes now have some weird pains, but I was freakin'. I saw the boat fly by as it flew off the trailer. But the moment we stopped spinning around and came to a stop my daddy got me out of the truck."

Actually, Jared did more than that. From Keri:

"Later that night as we were sitting home talking about the accident, Jared told me that once they got hit and started spinning that he reached over and un-did his seat belt and then threw himself over JC to cover him up to protect him from getting hurt."

The human, in the human race.

"Circle The Wagons'

Within moments of the accident, the family BASS came to the rescue.

Tilly Davis, wife of Mark, was standing next to Marty Stone when he got the phone call from Keri telling him about the accident. Marty and Jared room together on the road and Marty told Keri, "I'm on my way."

Tilly got on her phone and called Shirley Brauer, Denny's wife, and Jennifer Lowen, Bill's wife.

Shirley Brauer has been on the road with Denny since 1984. "When something happens everyone pitches in to do whatever they can do to help out."

Jennifer Lowen was the one who got the call from Tilly. "It was like somebody ripped my stomach out, but out here you always have someone you can count on."

So Jennifer started "texting like mad to other wives."

One of them, Julia Kennedy, Steve's wife, jumped into their truck and headed to the accident scene and started helping search the area for fishing and personal items. "I started to put them in the tailgate, batteries and things, and started to pick up tackle so it all wouldn't be lost."

Julie Roumbanis, Fred's wife, also got a text and then she became the switchboard operator relaying messages from one wife to another, one angler to another. "Fred called me and said, 'Don't give Jared a reason to quit, get your girls out there finding stuff.' He wouldn't be able to quit if we could get him back in the water real quick."

Keri Short, Kevin's wife started the search and began "collecting rods, reels, tackle, anything to get him on the water. I just started making calls and told the people it's time to circle the wagons and help one of our own."

The humans, in the human race.


Jared is in Clear Lake.

Jared's boat is in Lodi ... pulled out of the ditch and towed to a garage there.

Jared is in a tournament.

Jared's head wasn't.

Keri: "Monday was a real tough day for us. The insurance people kept calling Jared while he was out on the lake and he could hardly get any practice in. He called me and said he should just come in and I told him, that was alright, we could maybe just have a nice lunch, relax, try and get by this as a family, and I told him that would be fine with me ... but he stayed out."

"And then he caught a fish."

Slowly, Jared came back.

Cast by cast.

Fish by Fish.

The man who delivers milk to stores and restaurants near his hometown of Arroyo Grande, Calif., in the offseason so he can make money to fish the Elites ... came back.

And was out there competing today.

Four days after his life went spinning out of control on California I-5.

As I stood on the dock I waited for Jared to come by at the launch this morning. He was in the third flight out, boat 60-something.

Sixty boats floated by me, all of whom were brightly wrapped with the logo's of sponsors.


Except Jared's.

Jared's boat was naked.

It was a boat donated for this tournament. Some angler's personal boat. A regular guy without sponsors or fancy boat wraps. It was your average-Joe's Bass boat.

Keri: "We have a boat for this tournament ... as for the future, we are just going to take it one tournament at a time. I'm just happy that my whole family is safe, and massively grateful for what I call my Bass Family, and everything they have done for me."

But as I took a picture of Jared as he went by in the Boat With No Name it dawned on me that there is something that Jared needs to know.

His Boat With No Name ... has plenty of names.

The names on your boat Jared are: Tilly, Shirley, Jennifer, Julie, Julia, Fred, Kerry and dozens of others.

In fact Jared, your boat is indeed wrapped and sponsored.

By the humans, in the human race.

— db

Don Barone is an award-winning outdoors writer and a member of the New England Outdoor Writers Association and the Outdoor Writers Guild of the U.K. You can reach db at www.donbaroneoutdoors.com.

Tuesday, March 16, 2010

Trailer comes loose, hits oncoming car


Published February 25, 2010 10:45 pm - A Moultrie man was injured in an accident Wednesday afternoon when a trailer broke away from a truck.

Trailer comes loose, hits oncoming car


Staff Reports

MOULTRIE — A Moultrie man was injured in an accident Wednesday afternoon when a trailer broke away from a truck.


Richard Jones, of 220 Fourth Ave. S.E., was taken to Colquitt Regional Medical Center with injuries from the collision. A hospital spokesperson said he was listed in stable condition Thursday afternoon.

A Toyota Tacoma truck, driven by Michael Newberry of Norman, Pa., was towing a trailer down North Main Street. As the truck passed the Fifth Avenue North intersection at 2:09 p.m. Wednesday, the trailer came loose from the truck and went into the northbound lanes of North Main Street.

A Daewoo Nubria, driven by Jones, was driving north on North Main Street approaching the intersection when the trailer came loose. He told a Moultrie police officer the trailer came straight at his car, and it collided with the Nubria’s front end. Newberry told the officer he did not realize the trailer had come off the truck in time to prevent the collision.

The Nubria had extensive front end damage with air bags deployed, and Jones was taken to Colquitt Regional with pain in his legs. Newberry was not injured.

Newberry was cited for defective equipment in the collision, as the officer noted the trailer did not have chains securing it to the truck. Jones was not cited or charged.

Loose Trailer Hits School bus involved in three-vehicle crash


School bus involved in three-vehicle crash

Posted: Mar 05, 2010 9:14 AM EST

By Michael Addison - email

LAKE CHARLES, LA (KPLC) - State Police say a school bus was involved in a three-vehicle crash this morning at 6:45 a.m. on the West Fork Bridge, between Westlake and Moss Bluff.

Officials say there were no students on the bus at the time of the crash. The driver had not started her route yet.

Troopers say a trailer being pulled by a truck came unhitched and went into the opposing lane. The bus hit the trailer, and a car then rear-ended the bus.

No one was hurt. The driver of the truck was cited for Car less Operation for Failure to Secure Load.

Monday, March 15, 2010

CCSO - A dump truck hauling a fully loaded flatbed trailer crashed causing extensive damage to bridge in Oregon City

NOTE: Look at the condition of the Trailer...Was it inspected? Overloaded? What specific training is required before you can tow?






CCSO - A dump truck hauling a fully loaded flatbed trailer crashed causing extensive damage to bridge in Oregon City.




News Release from: Clackamas Co. Sheriff's Office
CCSO - A DUMP TRUCK HAULING A FULLY LOADED FLATBED TRAILER CRASHED CAUSING EXTENSIVE DAMAGE TO BRIDGE IN OREGON CITY.
Posted: March 15th, 2010 9:32 PM

The Clackamas County Sheriff's Office
Jim Strovink, Detective
Office of Public Information
12700 SE 82ND Avenue, Clackamas, Oregon 97015

News Release *** (Photos Attached) ***

All accompanying photographs provided courtesy of the Clackamas County Sheriff's Office.

Please refer to Clackamas County Sheriff's Office Case #10-7998

On Monday, March 15, 2010 at 6:19 p.m. a dump truck and driver is reported to have careened off from a bridge covering Abernathy Creek on S. Maple Lane Road and landed in this shallow body of water. The injured driver was pulled from the wreckage by citizens who witnessed the crash and pulled this injured driver from the cab of the truck – conscious and breathing – who was then airlifted to Oregon Health Sciences University Hospital in Portland.

Investigating Clackamas County Sheriff's Deputies report the driver declared his brakes failed while in operation of his 1987, Ford, Model TT dump truck while hauling a flatbed trailer – loaded with large pieces of concrete and other miscellaneous heavy debris.

The injured driver is identified as Steve A. Oberson, 47, of Oregon City. This involved truck is registered to Oberson Excavating Incorporated, on Holcomb Boulevard, in Oregon City.

This dump truck is reported to have crashed into the guard rail of this bridge and caused extensive structural damage to the bridge. A Clackamas County bridge inspector was summoned to the scene to inspect the structural integrity of this damaged bridge. An attending Deputy Sheriff said, "The impact of the truck into the bridge was so severe, the rear view mirror of the truck was found embedded into a portion of this bridges guardrail that was ripped from the bridge upon impact."

Motorists can anticipate this portion of S. Maple Lane Road, in Oregon City –- between S. Fergusson Road and S. Waldo Road -- to be closed to all vehicle traffic while emergency crews work to clear the roadway, extract the vehicle and trailer from the creek bed and evaluate the reliability of the damaged bridge. It is unknown at this time when this stretch of roadway will reopen to vehicular traffic.

Clackamas Fire District #1 and American Medical Response were on scene to aid in the medical transportation of this injured driver by packaging the patient for transport and securing a landing zone. In addition to controlling the scene until Clackamas County Road Department personnel arrived to control vehicular traffic.

The Department of Environmental Services responded to the scene to help contain the diesel fuel spilled into the swift flowing Abernathy Creek.

This remains an active traffic crash investigation conducted by the Clackamas County Sheriff's Office. No citations were issued and the driver was lawfully wearing his seat belt at the time of the crash.

All accompanying photographs provided courtesy of the Clackamas County Sheriff's Office.

Please refer to Clackamas County Sheriff's Office Case #10-7998.[END]

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Wednesday, March 3, 2010

loose trailer Jacksonville third in state in hit-and-run accidents



Provided by the Sandberg family
Bob Sandberg said his wife Sandi's Saturn Ion was unrecognizable after a trailer detached from a pickup truck and flew into her car in June. The driver of that truck left the scene and the trailer had no license plate

Jacksonville third in state in hit-and-run accidents

Despite being seventh in population, hit-and-run numbers have skyrocketed as more leave accident scenes.


Sandi Sandberg vividly remembers the day she almost was killed by a hit-and-run driver.

Last June, she was driving west on Beaver Street at the intersection of Interstate 95 when a trailer detached from a white pickup truck going east. That trailer flew head-on into her car.

"I saw the trailer go airborne and there was nothing I could do before it hit me," Sandberg said.

When emergency responders extracted her, Sandberg found out she'd broken bones in both legs. A hospital stay and months of rehabilitation followed before she returned to work in December.

The driver of the truck was never found, and her 2007 Saturn Ion was damaged beyond repair. Police were unable to identify the driver from the trailer, which didn't have a license plate.

Sandberg's accident was not caught on tape, so her story did not get the attention afforded Karen Hanel after she was hit around the same time in the Shands Jacksonville parking lot by a hit-and-run driver chased by police.

These women are only two of the many victims of hit-and-run accidents in recent years.

Although it's the state's seventh-largest county, Duval follows Miami-Dade and Broward counties with the third-most hit-and-runs in 2008, according to the Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles. Numbers for 2009 will not be available for several months, but Duval was in the top four in 2006 and 2007.

Leaving the scene of a fatality is a first-degree felony punishable by up to 30 years in prison. It is also a felony to leave the scene of an accident when someone is injured, but it's a misdemeanor when there are no injuries.

Assistant State Attorney Mark Borello, who prosecutes hit-and-run cases in Jacksonville, said the city's large size is a factor in the number of cases. Duval County includes downtown Jacksonville, but also many rural areas without sidewalks that are dangerous for pedestrians, he said.

Whatever the reason, Borello's numbers have skyrocketed. In 2006, there were 349 prosecutions of hit-and-run drivers. In 2007 and 2008, that number climbed to more than 2,000

There's no sure reason behind the increase, but Lt. Bill Leeper of the Florida Highway Patrol said it could come from technological advances with cell phones, postings on online social network pages, more thorough investigations and more witnesses willing to come forward.

Lt. G.W. Grant with the Jacksonville Sheriff's Office said it's been his experience that hit-and-run drivers tend to leave the scene because they don't have a driver's license or insurance, have been drinking or have an outstanding warrant. And although there are often bystanders, he said, they tend to focus on the victim.

Danny Berenberg has been one - twice.

The first time he and his wife were run off A1A in Ponte Vedra Beach and into a ditch. The second time he was a pedestrian hit by a car in Jacksonville Beach.

Both accidents resulted in hospital stays and back injuries that required physical therapy, and Berenberg believes the second accident aged him. Despite this, he tries to keep a positive attitude.

"What I have lost is the time, the pain and the ability to ride my bicycle or exercise in the gym," he said.

Sandberg said she suspects many drivers don't have licen- ses or insurance, and that's why they don't stop. Her husband, Bob Sandberg, is more blunt.

"People today just aren't paying attention," he said. "I saw a woman putting on makeup while driving a few months ago."

When Bob Sandberg went to the junk yard to look at the car his wife was driving, he didn't recognize it until someone pointed it out to him.

He says he's not angry at the hit-and-run driver, but would like to ask that person a question.

"Why didn't you stop?" he asked. "You might have killed someone."

larry.hannan@jacksonville.com, (904) 359-4470

One horse killed, 2 rescued when trailer rolls in Arizona


by Catherine Holland / AZ Family

Posted on February 5, 2010 at 1:03 PM

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Wittman, ARIZONA -- A horse trailer with three horses inside rolled over in the West Valley Friday morning.

It happened at about 8:30 a.m. near Grand Avenue and Patton Road in Wittmann. Fire crews from Surprise responded to the scene.

Emergency crews were able to extricate two of the horses. Aerial video showed crews walking those horses around. A third animal did not survive the wreck.

Lanes were restricted in both directions for a time.

According to Chief Eddie Rios of the Wittmann Fire Department, it looks like the hitch connecting the trailer to the motor home that was hauling it came undone. The trailer detached and rolled over.

The motor home was traveling eastbound between Wittmann and Sun City.

There's no word on the condition of the driver.

Officer Robert Bailey of the Department of Public Safety said this it not the first time time kind of accident has happened.

"Last month, we had that happen here near the 202 and I-10, some people pulling two Clydesdales that came off the trailer," he said. "It happens from time to time."

Bailey said it's possible that the safety chains on the hitch might have snapped.

"A lot of times, it's operator error," Bailey said. "And they might not have strong enough safety chains. Those safety chains often snap, especially with those heavy horses."