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

Crash blocks traffic through Elkton tunnel.... Loose Trailer is to blame

Note: Look at the condition of the trailer........... how was the trailer hooked up?
What if a gas tank exploded in the Tunnel?

Story Published: Mar 30, 2009 at 7:15 AM PDT

By Megan Sweeney, KPIC News

ELKTON, Ore. -- Traffic was blocked for about 45 minutes after a car rammed a trailer in the Elkton tunnel Saturday. Police estimated more than fifty cars were at a stop for almost an hour on Saturday afternoon.

A trailer being pulled by an RV came loose for an unknown reason while the RV was driving through the Elkton tunnel. A vehicle coming from the opposite direction crashed into the trailer head-on.

Oregon State Police Trooper Brian Jewell said it was a mess for awhile. "The aftermath was that we had eastbound lane of travel was blocked for about 45 minutes until the tow trucks could remove both vehicles. The driver and passenger of the pickup were transported to Sacred Heart in Eugene, and it's unknown of their injuries."

Elkton fire responded from the west side of the tunnel, and North Douglas Fire and EMT came from the east side, to help with traffic control.

Police say they were very fortunate that there weren't more serious injuries in the crash.

Fire officials cleaned up debris from the accident and opened the tunnel again for the long line traffic to start moving again.

Trailer crushes pickup on Highway 280 What If?

Note: How was this trailer hooked up?
Was this trailer combination inspected?
What if this trailer went across the highway?

Is the pick up rated to tow this large trailer??

Trailer crushes pickup on Highway 280

Posted: March 23, 2009 05:43 PM

Updated: March 24, 2009 09:07 AM

LEE COUNTY, AL (WTVM) - News Leader 9 has confirmed what caused a minor traffic backup on HIghway 280.

Around 3:15 p.m. near Lee Road 285, a trailer that was being hauled by a white pickup ended up on top of the driver--- crushing the pickup and trapping the driver inside.

Highway 280 east-bound was shut down for about five minutes so that the driver could be airlifted to emergency services.

The extent of the injuries nor the driver's name are not known at this time.

News Leader is following this story. We'll have the latest information as soon as it becomes available.

Boat left launched off its trailer and crashed through cab

Note: The Boat should have not flown off the trailer if it was properly secured.
Bruce Colbert/The Daily Courier
Workers clear debris from a 15-car pileup Sunday afternoon on northbound Highway 89 at Del Rio Springs near Paulden. Blowing sand and dirt created a brownout resulting in a rear-end chain reaction. The boat in photo at left launched off its trailer and crashed through the rear window of the owner’s pickup.

Sunday, March 22, 2009

Shortly after 2 p.m. Sunday, a dense cloud of dirt and grit blinded northbound travelers on Highway 89 between Chino Valley and Paulden creating a chain reaction of rear-end collisions that resulted in a 15-car pileup and sent three people to Yavapai Regional Medical Center in Prescott.

"It was a freaky accident and I was only a mile from my house," accident victim Patti Allen said on her cell phone while waiting for law enforcement staff to release her.

"The road was so full of dust you could not see a thing and we slowed way down," she said breaking into sobs as she recalled the trauma. "Then all of a sudden it cleared and I could see the car in front of me slamming on his brakes and then we hit it."

Sunday, March 22, 2009

Shortly after 2 p.m. Sunday, a dense cloud of dirt and grit blinded northbound travelers on Highway 89 between Chino Valley and Paulden creating a chain reaction of rear-end collisions that resulted in a 15-car pileup and sent three people to Yavapai Regional Medical Center in Prescott.

"It was a freaky accident and I was only a mile from my house," accident victim Patti Allen said on her cell phone while waiting for law enforcement staff to release her.

"The road was so full of dust you could not see a thing and we slowed way down," she said breaking into sobs as she recalled the trauma. "Then all of a sudden it cleared and I could see the car in front of me slamming on his brakes and then we hit it."

The pileup started near milepost 333 about 300 feet north of a bridge at Del Rio Springs. For some of the accident victims, a historical marker along the side of the road that explains about the site being the first location of Camp Whipple in 1863 will forever mark the horrific scene.

Ken Gage and Justin Ward were towing their boat home from Alamo Lake when they encountered the brownout. They were vehicle No. 6 in the accident line-up.

"It was really dark, dark and brown and we could not see in front of us," Gage said. "All of a sudden it cleared and we saw that blue car and I just locked up the brakes," said Ward, who was driving the full-size pickup.

As the truck came to a screeching halt, the boat it was towing launched off its trailer and slammed into a half-shell mounted on the bed of the pickup. The boat's bow crashed through the fiberglass shell and stopped after it broke through the cab's rear window.

"We didn't know what was happening," Gage said. "Glass just came showering in on us." The boaters escaped without injuries.

Ambulances rushed three victims from the scene: a woman with a head injury; a man with chest pains; and a man with "some anxiety," Garcia said.

Chino Valley police stopped northbound Highway 89 traffic at Road 5 North about two miles south of the accident. Traffic officers blocked the road for nearly two hours and traffic backed up into Chino Valley.

Prescott Fire Battalion Chief Ralph Lucas said that rescue crews treated the accident as a "mass casualty incident."

Fire and medical crews triaged every person involved in the accident whether they had an injury or not. Medical staff tied a triage tag on the wrists of each person involved, Lucas explained.

As the wait dragged on, motorists pulled off into clearings and left their cars to talk to other motorists. Some drivers turned on their automobile radios and a festive-like mood seemed to develop among the stranded travelers.

"What can you do?" Bagdad miner and Paulden resident Carlos Fonte said while he waited in his car for the road to open.

At 3:50 p.m. officers started escorting groups of vehicles north and south. At 4:50 p.m. "we cleared the scene," Lucas said.

CORRECTION: The original version of this story incorrectly stated where Lucas works.

Horse rescued from I-70 rollover in Vail.... Loose Trailer

Vail, Colorado firefighters prepare to rescue a horse from a trailer that tipped over on Interstate 70 Monday morning. The horse was able to walk out and into another trailer.

Special to the Daily

VAIL, Colorado — Firefighters in Vail, Colorado rescued a horse trapped in an upended trailer Monday morning on eastbound Interstate 70 after a one-vehicle accident.

Rescuers were called to the scene shortly before 9 a.m. Monday at mile marker 178 to rescue the race horse, which was stuck in the tipped trailer. The trailer had become separated from a 2000 Ford truck traveling from Rifle to southern Mexico after a blown tire caused the vehicle to start fish tailing.

The trailer was tipped over on its rear with the hitch in the air and the horse inside when rescuers arrived on the scene. With the help of Eagle veterinarian Sylvia Stocker, rescue teams removed the horse from the trailer by cutting a flap out on the roof.

The horse was able to walk out on its own and was transferred to another trailer before resuming its trip to southern Mexico. The horse was uninjured except for a few minor scrapes and bumps.

Eastbound traffic on the interstate was reduced to one lane until the trailer was removed, and the lane was reopened by noon. No charges were filed.

NOTE: In New Mexico no standards are in place for these types of trailers.

We find it hard to believe that a trailer tire rim should just come off and bounce across the highway and take another life.

N.M. officials to investigate accident

Agency to decide if trailer met standards when tire fell off and killed Durango man

by Shane Benjamin
Herald Staff Writer

Article Last Updated; Tuesday, March 17, 2009

The New Mexico Department of Transportation is investigating an automobile accident in which a tire sheared off a trailer and smashed through the windshield of an oncoming vehicle, killing a Durango man.

The agency is expected to determine this week whether the trailer was up to standards for a commercial vehicle. It was an eight-wheeled trailer, 30 feet long, hauling a John Deere backhoe.

The accident occurred about 1 p.m. Friday on U.S. Highway 550, about six miles north of Aztec.

No criminal charges will be filed against the driver of the truck pulling the trailer, said Tom Asbe, a San Juan County, N.M., sheriff's deputy who investigated the accident.

"There's really no enforcement action for us to take," he said Monday. "It's kind of one of those freak accidents. There's nothing criminal for us to work off of."

Ron Newton, 44, an employee of Brainstorm Internet in Durango, died at the scene.

Phil Bryson of Durango was driving the BMW sport utility vehicle hit by the tire.

As Bryson and Newton traveled northbound, a southbound truck lost two left tires off its trailer.

One tire jumped a concrete lane divider and went through the windshield of the BMW, striking Newton, the front-seat passenger.

Newton had a wife, Dana, and two sons, Daniel and Stephen.

"Our prayers and our thoughts are with them," Bryson said Monday.

Bryson is the owner of Brainstorm and developed the Crossroads building on Main Avenue.

Newton worked for Brainstorm for only a couple of months. Before that, he worked for FastTrack Communications, a telecommunications company that serves northwest New Mexico and western Colorado.

Asbe said two wheels on the left side of the trailer sheared off for unknown reasons. Both tires were on the same axle and had heavy-duty rims, like those found on a truck. One of the tires hit the windshield dead on, he said.

"It came right through the windshield," he said. "There was very little damage above the windshield or below it."

The truck pulling the trailer was driven by Ronnie Jacquez, 34, of Bloomfield, N.M. It was a 1-ton welding truck owned by Moberg Welding of Bloomfield.

Ron Melancon of Richmond, Va., who operates a Web site called DangerousTrailers.org, is on a one-man campaign to improve safety regulations nationwide when it comes to utility trailers.

He is a former emergency services technician volunteer who has responded to accidents involving faulty trailers. He has also been involved in an accident involving a trailer.

There are very few regulations nationwide for trailers weighing less than 3,000 pounds, he said in a phone interview Monday. He said he's been investigating trailer accidents for six years.

In 2007, there were 459 fatal crashes and 21,775 injury accidents involving a passenger vehicle pulling a trailer in the United States, he said.

"I just don't know who has to be killed before we do something," Melancon said. "If I don't do this, who's going to take my place?"

shane@durangoherald.com

Memorial fund and services

A memorial service for Ron Newton will be held at 5 p.m. Thursday at Kingdom Hall of Jehovah’s Witnesses in Farmington, 800 West 30th St. The public is invited. A memorial fund has been set up in Ron and Dana Newton’s name at First National Bank of Durango, 259 W. Ninth St. Or, donations can be dropped off at Brainstorm Internet in Durango, 640 Main Ave.