Dangerous Trailers Accidents In 1999

Runaway parks department trailer strikes vehicle, hurts driver, jams traffic

2008-08-25T11:10:00.001-07:00

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Sun, The (Baltimore, MD)
July 30, 1999

Edition: HOWARD
Section: LOCAL
Page: 3B

Runaway parks department trailer strikes vehicle, hurts driver, jams traffic
Author: SUN STAFFNancy A. Youssef
Location(s):
HOWARD / REGION
Article Text:

A trailer that escaped from a Howard County Parks and Recreation truck after chains snapped crashed into a northbound vehicle on U.S. 29 yesterday morning causing a traffic backup for about three hours. John Peach, 40, of the 3400 block of Church Road in Ellicott City was driving south on U.S. 29 between Routes 108 and 175 when the 14-foot trailer came loose.

The trailer was carrying a garden tractor used to mow fields and baseball parks. "He felt the trailer moving, [and] it appears he tried to slow down," said Sgt. A. J. Bellido de Luna, who supervises the department's traffic enforcement section. The trailer traveled into the median and struck a northbound Chevrolet Suburban at 9: 44 a.m., police said.

The Suburban's driver, Thomas Fox, 49, of Sandy Spring, was transported to Maryland Shock Trauma Center, where he was listed in serious but stable condition last evening. Officials closed both directions of U.S. 29 for about 10 minutes to bring in a state police MedEvac helicopter to transport Fox.

The northbound side of the road remained closed for two more hours, creating a four-mile backup. Drivers were diverted onto Route 175, police said. Peach was not injured but was taken to Howard County General Hospital after suffering chest pains, said Gary Arthur, the recreation and parks director.

The garden tractor and trailer -- valued at about $30,000 -- were totaled. Peach has worked for the park service for more than 15 years, often making trips like yesterday's, Arthur said. Last year, he helped teach a one-day course to some of the 121 recreation and parks employees on how to attach trailers to trucks. Peach had attached the trailer that came loose to the truck, Arthur said. Police are investigating. Arthur said parks officials had no immediate plan to take action against Peach. "That has not been determined," he said. "We are waiting to see how he feels and for the police report." Pub Date: 7/30/99

Caption:
1. Injured: Thomas Fox, 49, of Sandy Spring was taken to the Maryland Shock Trauma Center yesterday after a runaway trailer hit his car on U.S. 29 in Columbia. The accident stopped traffic for several hours.
2. Morning accident: When the chains connecting a trailer to a Howard County Department of Recreation and Parks truck snapped, the trailer crashed into Fox's Suburban.Caption:
PETER J. HAMMOND : SPECIAL TO THE SUN
PHOTO(S)
Copyright (c) 1999 The Baltimore Sun Company
Record Number: 9907300034

Runaway parks department trailer strikes vehicle, hurts driver, jams traffic

2008-08-25T11:10:00.000-07:00

Docs remaining: 41
Subscription until: 09/03/2008 11:59 PM

Sun, The (Baltimore, MD)
July 30, 1999

Edition: HOWARD
Section: LOCAL
Page: 3B

Runaway parks department trailer strikes vehicle, hurts driver, jams traffic
Author: SUN STAFFNancy A. Youssef
Location(s):
HOWARD / REGION
Article Text:A trailer that escaped from a Howard County Parks and Recreation truck after chains snapped crashed into a northbound vehicle on U.S. 29 yesterday morning causing a traffic backup for about three hours. John Peach, 40, of the 3400 block of Church Road in Ellicott City was driving south on U.S. 29 between Routes 108 and 175 when the 14-foot trailer came loose. The trailer was carrying a garden tractor used to mow fields and baseball parks. "He felt the trailer moving, [and] it appears he tried to slow down," said Sgt. A. J. Bellido de Luna, who supervises the department's traffic enforcement section. The trailer traveled into the median and struck a northbound Chevrolet Suburban at 9: 44 a.m., police said. The Suburban's driver, Thomas Fox, 49, of Sandy Spring, was transported to Maryland Shock Trauma Center, where he was listed in serious but stable condition last evening. Officials closed both directions of U.S. 29 for about 10 minutes to bring in a state police MedEvac helicopter to transport Fox. The northbound side of the road remained closed for two more hours, creating a four-mile backup. Drivers were diverted onto Route 175, police said. Peach was not injured but was taken to Howard County General Hospital after suffering chest pains, said Gary Arthur, the recreation and parks director. The garden tractor and trailer -- valued at about $30,000 -- were totaled. Peach has worked for the park service for more than 15 years, often making trips like yesterday's, Arthur said. Last year, he helped teach a one-day course to some of the 121 recreation and parks employees on how to attach trailers to trucks. Peach had attached the trailer that came loose to the truck, Arthur said. Police are investigating. Arthur said parks officials had no immediate plan to take action against Peach. "That has not been determined," he said. "We are waiting to see how he feels and for the police report." Pub Date: 7/30/99 Caption:
1. Injured: Thomas Fox, 49, of Sandy Spring was taken to the Maryland Shock Trauma Center yesterday after a runaway trailer hit his car on U.S. 29 in Columbia. The accident stopped traffic for several hours.
2. Morning accident: When the chains connecting a trailer to a Howard County Department of Recreation and Parks truck snapped, the trailer crashed into Fox's Suburban.Caption:
PETER J. HAMMOND : SPECIAL TO THE SUN
PHOTO(S)
Copyright (c) 1999 The Baltimore Sun Company
Record Number: 9907300034

Loose trailer injures construction workers

2008-08-25T11:05:00.000-07:00

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St. Petersburg Times
May 2, 1999

Section: HERNANDO TIMES
Page: 10

Topics:
Index Terms:
vehicle accident injury
Loose trailer injures construction workers
Dateline: SPRING HILL

Article Text:Two highway flagmen working at a Suncoast Parkway interchange under construction east of Spring Hill were seriously injured Saturday when they were struck by a trailer that came loose from a pickup.

One of the injured men, David Alan Welsh, 40, of New Port Richey, was flown to Bayfront Medical Center in St. Petersburg with severe leg injuries, said Trooper Jerry Perdue of the Florida Highway Patrol. Welsh was in stable condition Saturday afternoon, a hospital spokeswoman said.

he second worker, Richard Stafford, also suffered serious leg injuries and was taken to Spring Hill Regional Medical Center, where he was in stable condition. The men were injured about 10:15 a.m. near theparkway interchange on Spring Hill Drive, near Barclay Ave.

A small trailer broke loose from behind a Ford truck driven by Virginia Ball Ryan, 62, of 19150 Ayers Road in Brooksville. The trailer clipped the two flagmen as they stood on the side of the road, narrowly missing two others, Perdue said. All four work for Prince Construction Co. of Palmetto, he said. Perdue said Ryan would be cited with a traffic violation for not securing the trailer properly.
Record Number: 9905026931910608675533

LEICESTER WOMAN DIES IN CRASH WITH FLATBED TRAILER

2008-08-25T11:02:00.001-07:00

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Asheville Citizen-Times (NC)

March 2, 1999

Edition: Final
Section: Local
Page: 1B

Topics:
Index Terms:
ACCIDENTS, COMMERCIAL TRUCKS, FATALITY

LEICESTER WOMAN DIES IN CRASH WITH FLATBED TRAILER
Author: Susan Dryman; Staff Writer

Article Text:

LEICESTER - A Buncombe County woman was killed Monday when a bulldozer being towed by a dump truck came loose from its trailer, causing the trailer to crash into her car.

Cleo Nora Reems, 57, died in the 8 a.m. wreck near the intersection of Leicester Highway and Anderson Road. Reems became yet another in a string of deaths caused in recent months by big, commercial trucks.

According to Trooper Tim Jackson, the wreck happened as a 1979 Ford dump truck was traveling toward Asheville on Leicester Highway. The dump truck was pulling a 24-foot-long flatbed trailer, and the trailer was holding a 25,000-pound bulldozer.

Investigators believe the bulldozer came loose from the trailer. When it slid off the trailer, the trailer swerved in the other direction, hitting the front of Reems' 1986 Subaru.

She was traveling in the opposite direction. The bulldozer kept rolling until it came to a stop in a nearby parking lot.

Reems died at the scene, the trooper said. She was not wearing a seat belt, he said. A seat belt may have helped, he said, but he added that he couldn't be sure.

"I would say, yes, that could have helped. Possibly," he said. "I think it would."

No charges had been filed Monday against the driver, identified as Randy Scott Combs, 33, of Leicester. The trooper said Combs owned the dump truck, bulldozer and trailer and was heading to work in Fletcher when the wreck happened.

Troopers will meet today with officers from the N.C. Division of Motor Vehicles, Jackson said. The DMV is also investigating the wreck because the dump truck had several violations, according to Jackson.

"Tires, breaks, lights, - a lot of things, driving left of center, inspection violation," the trooper said. "None of these really caused the accident, though."

The two agencies will present their findings to the district attorney's office. That office will decide whether any charges will be filed, the trooper said.

Copyright (c) Asheville Citizen-Times. All rights reserved. Reproduced with the permission of Gannett Co., Inc. by NewsBank, inc.
Record Number: ash7065349

Woman hurt after car hit by loaded trailer

2008-08-25T10:59:00.001-07:00

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Herald-Sun, The (Durham, NC)
November 17, 1999

Edition: Final
Section: Durham
Page: C3

Topics:
Index Terms:
Traffic accidents;Injuries
Woman hurt after car hit by loaded trailer
Author: KAMMIE MICHAEL The Herald-Sun

Article Text:

A Durham woman was seriously injured when a trailer loaded with landscaping supplies broke loose from a truck and slammed into a car on Old Chapel Hill Road near the New Hope Creek bridge Monday morning, police reported. Jane Sherman of Kelly Drive was in serious and stable condition Tuesday at Duke University Hospital, where she was being treated for head and facial injuries.

The accident happened around 9:12 a.m. when a "low boy" trailer pulled loose from an eastbound dump truck driven by Fausto Ruiz Molina of Jones Ferry Road in Carrboro, said Durham Police Investigator Michael Goodwin of the Traffic Services Division. The trailer crossed the center line and crashed into a westbound Mitsubishi driven by Sherman.

The trailer's tongue assembly crashed through the windshield and penetrated the passenger area, Goodwin reported. A Dodge van, driven by Karen Grissom of Chesden Drive, which was behind the Mitsubishi on Old Chapel Hill Road, was also damaged. Durham firefighters from Rescue 1, Rescue 5 and Engine 5 spent almost 40 minutes working to remove Sherman from her mangled car. Firefighters first had to use high-rise jacks and wood blocks to stabilize the trailer, which was wedged against the car.

They then used a Hurst tool, commonly known as the Jaws of Life, to cut away sections of the car to reach Sherman. Parkwood medics treated Sherman at the scene until she was transported to Duke by LifeFlight helicopter. Grissom, Molina and two passengers in the dump truck - Ramon Diaz of Carrboro and Earl Brewer of Pittsboro - were not injured, Goodwin said. Traffic was rerouted for almost three hours. The accident is still under investigation.

Copyright, 1999, The Durham Herald Company
Record Number: 0338052289

TRUCKER TO BE CHARGED FOR TRAILER THAT HIT GIRL 1999 Florida

2008-08-25T10:55:00.000-07:00

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Stuart News, The (FL) January 27, 1999
Edition: St. Lucie County Section: Local Page: B1

TRUCKER TO BE CHARGED FOR TRAILER THAT HIT GIRL

Author: BRIEF

Article Text:ST. LUCIE COUNTY -

A truck driver whose trailer came loose Thursday, crossed two lanes of highway and struck a 4-year-old girl, neglected to hook up the safety chains that would have prevented the accident, officials said Tuesday. Robert N. Tucholski, 47, of Fort Pierce will be charged with improperly securing the trailer, said Florida Highway Patrol Lt. Pembrook Burrows.

Tucholski was towing the trailer loaded with two concrete-mixing buckets when it came loose near 2521 S. 25th St., slamming into a car, then hitting Brittany Leavesley, who was playing in her front yard. Tucholski declined to comment to reporters after the accident but told Trooper Mac Mickens that he had safety chains on the trailer as he traveled north on 25th Street, FHP reports stated. Brittany remains in serious condition at St. Mary's Medical Center in West Palm Beach.

Record Number: 1026F9E41E54DE1D

TRAILER STRIKES GIRL PLAYING IN FRONT YARD

2008-08-09T04:09:00.001-07:00

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Fort Pierce News (FL) January 29, 1999
Edition: St. Lucie County Section: A Section Page: A2

TRAILER STRIKES GIRL PLAYING IN FRONT YARD

Article Text:FORT PIERCE - A trailer hauling two large cement mixers broke loose from the back of a moving truck last Wednesday and struck a 4-year-old girl playing in the front yard of her South 25th Street house.

Brittany Leavesley was sitting on her front lawn playing with a purple toy truck about 5 p.m. when the trailer crossed at least two lanes of traffic and careened onto her play area near the driveway of her house at 2521 S. 25th St., Florida Highway Patrol Trooper Mac Mickens said.

Brittany was taken to St. Mary's Medical Center in West Palm Beach and remains in serious but stable condition. Mickens said the girl was thrown onto the next-door neighbor's yard before the cement mixers and trailer crashed into a red Pontiac Sunbird and a red and white Ford truck parked on Brittany's front yard. Robert N. Tucholski, 47, of 3044 Oleander Blvd., was towing the trailer on the back of a large crane truck from R&J Crane Service while northbound on 25th Street before the trailer separated.

Tucholski will be charged with improperly securing the trailer, said Florida Highway Patrol Lt. Pembrook Burrows. Burrows said Tuesday that Tucholski neglected to hook up the safety chains that would have prevented the accident. Tucholski told investigators on the day of the accident that the chains had been connected.

Onlookers gathered in neighboring yards as the sun went down, watching troopers and sheriff's deputies gather evidence from the mixers and other vehicles in the yard where Brittany's broken toys lay scattered. Next-door neighbor Kimberly DeCamp, 11, said she heard screams, then her brother ran in the house and told her to call the police because Brittany was hurt..

"I heard people yelling "Brittany's been hit," DeCamp said as she fought back tears. "Her mom was shaking and crying, and the whole family went to the hospital." DeCamp said Brittany often played in her front yard with her toys and the family's puppies. Brittany's parents, Helen and James Leavesley, filed suit against the crane company Monday afternoon, alleging Tucholski negligently operated the crane truck, which caused the trailer to break loose and injure Brittany.

"It doesn't get much worse than this," said West Palm Beach attorney Adam Doner, who represents the Leavesleys. "Brittany's been in and out of a coma with traumatic head injuries." A representative from R&J Crane Services said he could not comment about the lawsuit because he had not consulted the company's attorney.

Doner said that he sent investigators to the scene Monday afternoon and that the trailer was not appropriate for carrying the mixing buckets. He also said he thinks an incorrect hitch was used to attach the trailer to the crane truck. "I believe that's what the police will come to find," Doner said. The lawsuit claims Brittany has suffered disfigurement, mental anguish and loss of ability to earn money. Helen Leavesley, who witnessed the accident, also claims she has suffered psychological trauma, according to the lawsuit.

"Helen Leavesley, while sitting on her front lawn watching her daughter playing a few feet away saw and heard a trailer crash into her child throwing the child into the air and landing in a neighbor's yard," the lawsuit states. Doner said Helen Leavesley was sitting only a few feet away from Brittany. She has spent most of the past two days with her daughter in the hospital, he said. "I'm sure she's going to suffer more when she has time to settle down, but she's got to take care of her cub first," he said. Caption:

(B/W) photo by Ian Solender: Robert N. Tuchoiski of R & J Crane Services talks with Florida Highway Patrolman Mac Mickens last Wednesday after a trailer attached to his truck came loose and struck a 4-year-old girl playing in her yard at 2621 S. 25th St. in Fort Pierce.

Record Number: 1027E24D686A3D5D