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Terrible accident today in St. Louis

GeddyLee

GeddyLee

New member
I posted on some of the local boards, but I figured I would put it here as well. It terrible that such life has to be lost at the hands of reckless drivers, and in this case a truck driver. I am not trying to single them out, but look at what this ba$tard did.

Here is the slide show from the accident. I had just passed through this portion of highway not more than 5 to 8 minutes before this happened. News stations report and eye witnesses states that the tractor trailer simply ran over 5+ cars sitting still in traffic and destroyed most of them. At least 2 are known dead, and I have heard reports now that another 2 more have perished from this senseless accident.

Here is one of the photo galleries for the accident.

http://www.kmov.com/perl/common/slideshow/sspop.pl?recid=10970&location=www.kmov.com

This is one of the fatalities. The car use to be Audi. I believe from looking at the accident scene and the photos provided by the various News outlets, this was probably the first car the truck it. Then there was a white Ford Focus that was next and then he proceeded to plow into another 8 more cars before coming to a stop. Only because one of the cars was lodged in the Tractor Trailer's grill.

Crash3.jpg


Crash1.jpg


Obviously the driver did not make it. And yes you can see the Audi logo on the front grill. I think this was the first car the Tractor Trailer struck.

This was the next car he struck, the white Ford Focus, somehow the rescue workers were able to free the driver from the mangled mess, but he was in pretty bad shape.

Crash5.jpg


Here is a collection of a few more cars and SUV's the truck took out before coming to a rest a few feet away.

Crash4.jpg


Here you can see what remains of one of the cars stuck in the grill of the tractor trailer. Again rescue workers were able to pull someone from that debris as well.

Crash2.jpg


And here are some of the news links for it as well.

http://www.kmov.com/topstories/stories/k....t.5b3b43bb.html

http://www.stltoday.com/stltoday/ne...8266BF06A149B840862574880020AE20?OpenDocument

Here is the Missouri Highway Patrol's offical report on the crash.


Accident Information

Investigated By Date Time County Location Troop
SERGEANT R BURCKHARDT #615 ASSISTED BY MCIU TEAM #2 07/15/2008 3:40PM ST. LOUIS HIGHWAY 40 .5 MILES WEST OF INTERSTATE 270 C

Vehicle Information Veh. # Vehicle Description Damage Disposition Driver Name Driver Gender Driver Age Safety Device Driver City/State Driver Insurance Vehicle Direction

1 2004 AUDI TT TOTAL TAKEN BY/TO MCNAMARA'S TOWING CASON, CHARLES K MALE 55 YES CASEYVILLE, IL STATE FARM EASTBOUND
2 2006 FORD TAURUS MODERATE TAKEN BY/TO MCNAMARA'S TOWING STEINHOFF, FRANK W MALE 27 YES ST LOUIS, MO STATE FARM EASTBOUND
3 2006 JEEP LIBERTY EXTENSIVE TAKEN BY/TO MCNAMARA'S TOWING WRIGHT, WENDY M FEMALE 31 UNKNOWN ST LOUIS, MO ALLSTATE EASTBOUND
4 2007 FORD FOCUS TOTAL TAKEN BY/TO MCNAMARA'S TOWING JAYNE, DAVID C MALE 49 YES KIRKWOOD, MO UNKNOWN EASTBOUND
5 2007 FORD EXPEDITION TOTAL TAKEN BY/TO MCNAMARA'S TOWING FARRELL, STEVEN E MALE 34 NO ST LOUIS, MO UNKNOWN EASTBOUND
6 1991 PLYMOUTH VOYAGER TOTAL TAKEN BY/TO MCNAMARA'S TOWING LOVELADY, GAYLEN MALE 60 YES HUNNEWELL, MO UNKNOWN EASTBOUND
7 2002 FORD EXPEDITION TOTAL TAKEN BY/TO MCNAMARA'S TOWING REGINA, MICHAEL C MALE 30 YES ST CHARLES, MO ALLIED EASTBOUND
8 2003 PONTIAC GRAND AM TOTAL TAKEN BY/TO MCNAMARA'S TOWING D'ANGELO, MICHELLE M FEMALE 24 YES ST LOUIS, MO ALLSTATE EASTBOUND
9 2001 DODGE CARAVAN TOTAL TAKEN BY/TO MCNAMARA'S TOWING GARTHWAITE, MELISSA L FEMALE 35 YES MARION, IA AMERICAN FAMILY EASTBOUND
10 2007 TOYOTA CAMRY TOTAL TAKEN BY/TO MCNAMARA'S TOWING TIBURZI, MARK S MALE 52 UNKNOWN ST PETERS, MO UNKNOWN EASTBOUND
11 2005 FREIGHTLINER EXTENSIVE TAKEN BY/TO MCNAMARA'S TOWING KNIGHT, JEFFREY R MALE 49 YES MUSCLE SHOALS, AL OCCIDENTAL EASTBOUND

Injury Information Veh. # Name Gender Age Injury Type Safety Device City/State Involvement Disposition

1 CASON, CHARLES K MALE 55 FATAL YES CASEYVILLE, IL DRIVER ST LOUIS COUNTY MEDICAL EXAMINER TO ST LOUIS COUNTY MORGUE
2 STEINHOFF, FRANK W MALE 27 MINOR YES ST LOUIS, MO DRIVER WEST COUNTY FIRE & EMS TO MISSOURI BAPTIST HOSPITAL
3 WRIGHT, WENDY M FEMALE 31 MINOR UNKNOWN ST LOUIS, MO DRIVER WEST COUNTY FIRE & EMS TO ST JOHNS HOSPITAL-CREVE COEUR
4 JAYNE, DAVID C MALE 49 SERIOUS YES KIRKWOOD, MO DRIVER WEST COUNTY FIRE & EMS TO ST JOHNS HOSPITAL-CREVE COEUR
5 FARRELL, STEVEN E MALE 34 MODERATE NO ST LOUIS, MO DRIVER WEST COUNTY FIRE & EMS TO ST JOHNS HOSPITAL-CREVE COEUR
6 BORNTREGER, LEVI S MALE 56 SERIOUS NO CANTON, MO OCCUPANT WEST COUNTY FIRE & EMS TO ST JOHNS HOSPITAL-CREVE COEUR
6 BORNTREGER, SUSAN FEMALE 52 SERIOUS UNKNOWN CANTON, MO OCCUPANT WEST COUNTY FIRE & EMS TO ST JOHNS HOSPITAL-CREVE COEUR
6 EICHER, ANNA A FEMALE 58 MINOR NO KAHOKA, MO OCCUPANT WEST COUNTY FIRE & EMS TO ST JOHNS HOSPITAL-CREVE COEUR
6 LOVELADY, GAYLEN MALE 60 SERIOUS YES HUNNEWELL, MO DRIVER WEST COUNTY FIRE & EMS TO ST JOHNS HOSPITAL-CREVE COEUR
6 MAST, ALVIN J MALE 88 SERIOUS UNKNOWN KAHOKA, MO OCCUPANT WEST COUNTY FIRE & EMS TO ST JOHNS HOSPITAL-CREVE COEUR
6 MILLER, LEVI MALE 56 SERIOUS NO CANTON, MO OCCUPANT WEST COUNTY FIRE & EMS TO MISSOURI BAPTIST HOSPITAL
6 MILLER, LYDIA FEMALE 55 FATAL NO CANTON, MO OCCUPANT ST LOUIS COUNTY MEDICAL EXAMINER TO ST LOUIS COUNTY MORGUE
7 REGINA, MICHAEL C MALE 30 MODERATE YES ST CHARLES, MO DRIVER WEST COUNTY FIRE & EMS TO MISSOURI BAPTIST HOSPITAL
9 GARTHWAITE, MELISSA L FEMALE 35 MODERATE YES MARION, IA DRIVER WEST COUNTY FIRE & EMS TO MISSOURI BAPTIST HOSPITAL
9 GARTHWAITE, OWEN T MALE 5 MINOR YES MARION, IA OCCUPANT WEST COUNTY FIRE & EMS TO MISSOURI BAPTIST HOSPITAL
9 GARTHWAITE, THOMAS D MALE 36 MINOR YES MARION, IA OCCUPANT WEST COUNTY FIRE & EMS TO MISSOURI BAPTIST HOSPITAL
10 TIBURZI, MARK S MALE 52 SERIOUS UNKNOWN ST PETERS, MO DRIVER WEST COUNTY FIRE & EMS TO ST JOHNS HOSPITAL-CREVE COEUR
10 WILLETT, DAVID C MALE 42 SERIOUS YES LAKEWOOD, OH OCCUPANT WEST COUNTY FIRE & EMS TO ST JOHNS HOSPITAL-CREVE COEUR

Misc. Information

FATALITY ACCIDENT - VEHICLES #1 THROUGH #10 TRAVELLING EASTBOUND WERE STOPPED OR SLOWING FOR TRAFFIC CONGESTION BEFORE BEING STRUCK BY VEHICLE #11. INVESTIGATION CONTINUES. BOTH SUBJECTS PRONOUNCED AT SCENE BY WEST COUNTY EMS PERSONNEL AT 1553 HOURS. MTD-7 YTD-75.


Somone on the KC Boards asked what happened with the driver. Here is what I gathered from talking to local officer friends of mine and what the media outlets were saying.

He, the truck driver, was uninjured in the accident surprisingly enough. He was taken to the Troop C HQ just up the road where he was questioned and released. Reports state that the Highway Patrol are looking at various charges to put against the man. I am sure no doubt the families of the loved ones who died will no doubtly sue the pants off the company and the driver.

Which in my book is the least they can do!! More than likely he will be charged with involuntary manslaughter, unless they can prove his mental state different. And a slew of other charges will soon follow I am sure. From what I heard later in the night was that two more of the critically injured people had died. But that has yet to be confirmed by the media outlets.

This spot was also the SAME EXACT LOCATION of another accident 2 years ago.

Two years ago, the driver of a tractor-trailer lost control of his vehicle at almost the same spot on Highway 40, crashing through the median and into oncoming traffic. One person was killed in that eight-vehicle crash.
Click to expand...

That stretch of road on 40 and 270 is one of the worst areas, there is almost some type of accident daily in that location. I am sure something is going to be done in the wake of this latest incident.


I am sure many people are going to ask why I posted this here. I think the answer is quite simple. Just cause you think you are safe in your car, it is not always the case, and you need to take every precaution and protect yourself all the time while driving. While most of this was unavoidable, I am sure had the truck driver been more aware of his surroundings and was taking his time and being cautious, maybe this might not have happened.

Thanks for letting me share this with you all.
 
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That is a twisted mess and all at the hands of one driver. There was a situation in connecticut where a dump truck lost its brakes coming down a hill, plowed through an intersection killing 4 people the company had a bad history of faulty trucks and was shut down by the state. here is a link. Connecticut Car Accidents: Traffic Crashes: 20 Car Pileup Avon, Connecticut
I travel 30 miles each way to work and each direction on I-84 there are always new skid marks going into gaurd rails, off the highway etc. and some times I wonder when and if my day will come at the hands of someone else. One day on my way home cars were slamming on their brakes and swerving all over the highway I made it through that safe only to see a car in the woods with steam coming out of the engine compartment and a tree through the cars drivers seat almost into the back seat, he died instantly from what I heard.
There have been time I would get off the highway and take back roads just because people on the highways are so aggressive. I would rather spend an hour going home then spending time in a hospital because someone was in a hurry or not paying attention or who knows what and caused an accident.
 
Truck driver have a medical condition, on a power trip or have equipment failure? Holy crap what a loss and a huge mess.

I cannot believe after all that the semi truck still looks like it does. I was expecting it to look like one of the vehicles it hit. Ya I know semi trucks are big and powerful, but there it nothing up front thats made for this kind of impact. Its all cosmetic. Only thing thats strong up there is the frame, and engine, and even then...I have seen them cet ripped off the rest oft he truck in some accidents.

Wow, that is terrible for sure, you never think that just going to work on a normal day or down to the local store to get a gallon of milk could be your last trip. Each day is a blessing.

~F~
 
he's from Alabama, it's easy to get a cdl here, I see crashes similar to that every day from them (not quite on that scale)
 


hypergp1 said:
Funny this accident is obviously the Truckers fault, look at how the truckers respond to the accident. Pretty typical, they always blame their accidents on the cars...

Devastating crash in Missouri - Page 5 - Truckers' Trucking Forum | Message Board | Discussion
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Well i am no truck driver. and probably never will be. but i can imagine it is very different vs. driving a 4 wheeler and that sometimes we dont respect that there on the road also...I mean shoot it takes them a lot longer to stop than regular cars...so these cars may have stopped for something and the trucker couldent and resulted in this...probably like the people working at the drive through window and them getting yelled at by a customer for being to slow when it isint really even there fault at all. I just turned 20 but i've had a lot of different jobs and by having some of those different jobs i can say i look at things in a whole new perspective now.
 
bottom line is i think 18 wheelers are dangerous period because of there size. And the drivers take most of the blame when something happens. CDL school dosent teach you how to avoid 6 stopped cars on the highway when your going 75 and your a 1000 ft away from hitting them...thoughts and prayers go out to everyone that was injured.
 
TDCRacing said:
bottom line is i think 18 wheelers are dangerous period because of there size. And the drivers take most of the blame when something happens. CDL school dosent teach you how to avoid 6 stopped cars on the highway when your going 75 and your a 1000 ft away from hitting them...thoughts and prayers go out to everyone that was injured.
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To be honest, there really isn't a way to avoid cars when you are in rush hour traffic in a situation like that. People need to respect trucks more and know that they aren't a sports car. They take alot longer to get up to speed, to slow down and to make any maneuvers, but they are the backbone to our economy. Without trucks nothing would get sent from factories to stores and to the consumer.
 
IndeedSS said:
This was quite sad but until the truth comes out, it's hard to pass judgement.
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Well I will gladly pass judgement. I mean seriously. It took the truck almost 100 yards, 300 feet plus, to finally come to complete stop. And that is AFTER only hitting TEN cars infront of him. And the section of road he was on, was downhill and he is riding up in his cab. He would have a better view of ahead traffic than most regular motorists would have.

The MHP brought him to the Troop C HQ, just up the street from the accident to be interviewed. After the interview he was released and it was stated by the news outlets that they do intend persure charges against the Tractor Trailer driver. It is obvious he was driving way to fast the conditions before him.

I hope they throw the book at him and the family's of the loved ones lost sue the pants off him and the company. That will not bring their loved ones back, but hopefully it will get this monkey off the roads and close down a company that obviously hires incompetent drivers.

Sorry Lee I dont mean to point the crosshairs at you, not my intention, my intention is to show he truly drove in a way that helped to further cause the accident. Had he have been driving at a safe speed, and he HAD a clearview of the road ahead of him, maybe he would have only hit one or two cars, but instead he literally plowed through 10 cars. And from the impart on the Audi, which it's trunk is literally where the driver use to sit was crushed and the white focus and its mangled mess, the driver of the tractor trailer was going WAY TO FAST.

Could have a small 4 wheeler gotten into the path of the truck? Sure! But if the tractor trailer driver was going the speed limit or at least slowing down seeing what was ahead of him, maybe there would not have been such a loss of life. Cause there are no blind spots after Mason road. it is purely downhill and you can see all the way upto 270 at that point. How he could have misjudged that? It's almost impossible unless he was travelling at a higher rate of speed into that mess at 40 and 270.
 
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hypergp1 said:
Funny this accident is obviously the Truckers fault, look at how the truckers respond to the accident. Pretty typical, they always blame their accidents on the cars...

Devastating crash in Missouri - Page 5 - Truckers' Trucking Forum | Message Board | Discussion
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Oh I went to that site and read the comments. I had to sign up and say a few tasteful things to one of the bums over there! Truckers just think they are above all else cause they know they are more times than not safer than most other vehicles. And you can see it when they drive. They KNOW you are gonna move when they try edge you over. They know with their big rigs no one is going to truly hurt them.

But if they, and regular 4 wheeled motorists alike, would just slow down and recongnize their surroundings and realize what is going on, maybe we would not have this discussion. :th_angry2:
 
This is very saddening. I drove trucks for 9 years and came into contact with alot of drivers that hardly had any sleep trying to make their trips faster for more money. 9 times out of 10 this is the ending result. Sorry to see something like this happen due to someone elses mistake.
 
At this point you have no idea what really happened. As a member of the million mile club, I've seen a lot of terrible things on the roads. You can only guess at the cause of this one, at this point.

When traffic suddenly slows or stops in a location where it shouldn't, I constantly check my rearview until there is a long line of cars stopped behind me or at least one big truck. This type of accident is all too common, unfortunately. If you have to stop in a corner or on the down side of a hill then you better have a plan B ready.
 
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TCO said:
To be honest, there really isn't a way to avoid cars when you are in rush hour traffic in a situation like that. People need to respect trucks more and know that they aren't a sports car. They take alot longer to get up to speed, to slow down and to make any maneuvers, but they are the backbone to our economy. Without trucks nothing would get sent from factories to stores and to the consumer.
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While true, I must say that it doesn't look like the fault belongs to 10 cars that were plowed by the truck. While one car getting rear ended I can see...that doesn't go for the last guy 100 yards down the road that this guy hit...and it's obvious he may have been moving at a speed exceeding what he should have been. When you're moving 80,000 lbs of equipment, you are responsible for taking your own safety measures. A truck that keeps a safe distance is a whole lot better than a a loaded down Volvo riding your ass at 70mph because he's late to offload.

And for the record, I have driven trucks for a while...I also deal with truck drivers on a daily basis. I can see road rage going in both ways, but I just can't in this case.
 
Our farm runs 3-4 semis everyday hauling grain. It's pretty obvious the semi driver is at fault unless there was something wrong with his air brakes. Still thats hard to do seeing that you have warning lights and sounds telling you your air pressure is low... then you have your trailer brakes... then you have downshifting, or if its an automatic your kinda screwed, then there is swerving... The list goes on of what he could have done but he must have fallen asleep and woke up faceplanted into the steering wheel.
 


Who goes exactly the posted speed limit on the highway anyway? and when you do go the exact speed limit everybodys freakin flyin past you like what the hell is this dude doing and they act like theres something wrong with you. But when your going 10 miles over and cant stop even if you were going ten miles under...All of a sudden you the bad guy.



Anyone of you that thinks this is the truckers fault, go get a cdl and learn how to drive something thats 70-80 feet long and weighs 80,000 pounds. See how easy it is.The length of time to stop an eighteen wheeler is 40% greater than that of an automobile. theres nothing you can do about that.And if i remember correctly 18 wheelers only have 10 brakes not 18. think about it they only have 5 axles. Well if this guy fell asleep or what not then shame on him and shame on me. put yourself in this guys shoes.see what it's like. see what it feels like to accidently kill someone and then everybody in the whole world think your dirt.loose your job.then go bankrupt because of the lawsuits.and ...have to deal with with the matter mentally the rest of your life.

To be honest i imagine this guy is going through more of a ''worse time'' then the peoples that had deaths in there famillys.


I try to put myself in other peoples shoes to better understand there situation.It helps me not get mad as easy for one.Just a cupple points i think everyone needs to think about.
 
TDCRacing said:
Who goes exactly the posted speed limit on the highway anyway? and when you do go the exact speed limit everybodys freakin flyin past you like what the hell is this dude doing and they act like theres something wrong with you. But when your going 10 miles over and cant stop even if you were going ten miles under...All of a sudden you the bad guy.



Anyone of you that thinks this is the truckers fault, go get a cdl and learn how to drive something thats 70-80 feet long and weighs 80,000 pounds. See how easy it is.The length of time to stop an eighteen wheeler is 40% greater than that of an automobile. theres nothing you can do about that.And if i remember correctly 18 wheelers only have 10 brakes not 18. think about it they only have 5 axles. Well if this guy fell asleep or what not then shame on him and shame on me. put yourself in this guys shoes.see what it's like. see what it feels like to accidently kill someone and then everybody in the whole world think your dirt.loose your job.then go bankrupt because of the lawsuits.and ...have to deal with with the matter mentally the rest of your life.

To be honest i imagine this guy is going through more of a ''worse time'' then the peoples that had deaths in there famillys.


I try to put myself in other peoples shoes to better understand there situation.It helps me not get mad as easy for one.Just a cupple points i think everyone needs to think about.
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Ok on that other site, it was reported that witnesses were saying he was driving approx 75mph INTO RUSH HOUR TRAFFIC! First off, its one thing for a 4 wheeled car to travel 75 and stop in a reasonable amount of time, but when you have a semi hauling a full load at 75mph, its a whole different ballgame!

Also what is upsetting is the fact the driver HAD a clear view of the traffic ahead once he cleared Mason Road. He had plenty of time to slow down before getting to the location where the accident happened. Obviously he did NOT slow down. Instead he travelled 75mph down a good incline into the awaiting traffic.

I do not need a CDL license to teach me common sense. Something this driver obviously lacked. And if someone wants to throw out the BS excuse of, "well he was new to the area and didnt know about the roads!" Well EVEN MORE reason to slow down! NOT speed up!

This driver was at fault, plain and simple. Had he of kept his speed lower and not been blantantly disregarding the traffic ahead, maybe only one life would have been lost. And only a few cars damaged in the process. But you look at the destruction he caused, its like he NEVER slowed down. IF another car had crossed into his path, SURELY he would have applied the brakes well before where he ended up.
 
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