A motorcyclist was seriously injured Saturday afternoon Loose Trailer

A motorcyclist was seriously injured Saturday afternoon on Highway 30 near St. Helens when a trailer that became unhitched from a vehicle came across the highway and collided with the motorcycle.

On June 2, 2007 at approximately 1:42 p.m., a southbound vehicle was towing a boat trailer on Highway 30 near Bennett Road when the trailer became unhitched and drifted across all lanes of traffic, colliding with a northbound motorcycle. The operator of the motorcycle, LYNN MOHLER, age 54, from Ilwaco, Washington, was seriously injured. MOHLER was transported by Columbia River Fire and Rescue paramedics to Legacy Emanuel Hospital.

The operator of the vehicle towing the boat trailer, RICKY JAMES RUPP, age 51, from Warren, was cited for Violating Towing Safety Requirements.

Oregon State Police troopers from the St. Helens work site are completing the investigation. Three of four highway lanes were blocked by the crash for about one hour. Troopers were assisted by ODOT, Columbia River Fire and Rescue and the Columbia County Sheriff's Office.

Photograph Source: Oregon State Police

### www.oregon.gov/OSP ###
http://pdxinfo.net/IIN/press-releases.php?RegionID=1&Testing=0&PressReleaseID=12875&Alert=#12875

Pedestrian struck by run-away fishing boat trailer

Pedestrian struck by run-away fishing boat trailer: $425,000 verdict

The client was walking with her husband in Leelanau County when an approaching vehicle’s small fishing boat trailer broke loose and struck her hip. The defendant argued that the client’s injuries were not serious because she suffered no wage loss (she was retired) and she healed within a few months. The key to this case was telling the story of the client’s life – she and her husband retired, and were enjoying life to the fullest when this incident befell them. Even though there was no wage loss, it had a big impact on their life.

Tragedy so easily avoided

Tragedy so easily avoided

The tragic loss of the life of motorist Carlos Dorn is appalling because the accident on Riverside Drive could have been so easily avoided.

Before anyone drives any vehicle towing a trailer, they should have at least rudimentary knowledge.

Irrespective of whether legally required, exercise of due diligence requires the use of dual safety chains for trailering. Without due diligence, negligence is probably self-evident.

It is imperative that the ball and hitch sizes be a match and that the safety chain lengths be appropriate. Proper trailer load weight distribution and securing is imperative.

Probably the most frequent trailering mal-practice is failure to cross-over the safety chains. The cross-over practice enhances making safe tight turns and most importantly, allows the trailer tongue to be caught on the chains above the roadway surface if the ball is jumped, thus avoiding the trailer tongue plowing into the roadway surface, possibly causing loss of control of the tow vehicle.

George Davidson
Macon

Trailer that killed motorist wasn't secured with safety chain

Posted on Thu, Aug. 10, 2006

Accident report: Trailer that killed motorist wasn't secured with safety chain
By Tim Sturrock
TELEGRAPH STAFF WRITER

Macon police are investigating whether a city-owned trailer that detached from a truck and killed a man Tuesday was required by law to have a safety chain keeping it in place, police said.

According to an accident report, the trailer that killed motorist Carlos Dorn, 36, didn't have a safety chain attaching it to the truck. Safety chains are designed to keep trailers attached to trucks even when the hitch comes loose.

Monday, Dorn was traveling north on Riverside Drive as a city truck, driven by 50-year-old Hugh Edwards, was traveling southbound, police said. A trailer carrying a lawn mower detached from Edwards' truck, veered into the northbound lanes and struck Dorn's GMC Jimmy, police said.

No charges have been filed in the case.

For more on this story, read Friday's Telegraph.

Yet another Hump and Bump Utilty Trailer

July 24th:

The Aberdeen Squad held a one hour sobriety check in Day County. 10 vehicles were checked. 1-PBT was given. No arrests were made.

The Aberdeen Squad held a DUI saturation in Brown County. The results were 0-DUI, 1-PBT, 9 other arrests and 8 warnings.

Trooper Hostetter and Sergeant Marquardt investigated a fatal crash on a Brown County road north of Aberdeen. A 58 year old male was killed in the one vehicle rollover. He was driving a Chevrolet Suburban that was pulling a car trailer. The driver hit a pot hole in the road and subsequently the trailer came unhooked causing the driver to lose control. The tow vehicle rolled. The driver, who was alone, was ejected and died at the scene. He was not wearing a seatbelt. Speed does not appear to be a factor.

Hump and Bump Posting Utilty Trailer

Of course "pick-up trucks are not built to pull big, overweight trailers", neither are Freightliners! If a trailer is that "big" and "overweight", it shouldn't be towed by anything not designed to tow it! Pick-Up trucks were the first trucks, look at the old model "t"'s made into pick-up trucks by Henry Ford. Then they evolved and split into larger tow and hauling vehicles. The modern Pick-up trucks are designed to tow trailers and fifth wheels.

When we lost our tow vehicle and trailer in a roll-over accident last year, the firemen at the scene, the para-medics and the Highway Patrol all made the same comment. "Oh, yeah, that's the infamous 'hump-and-bump', it claims a lot of trailers and big rigs, too!" When we were at the ER in a local hospital, a retired firefighter took a look at us and said "let me guess, the "hump-and bump", right!" We found out, that even my correctly loaded and set up TT/Tow Vehicle, when it hit this overpass section, was subjected to a twist and a hump at the same time, that puts hapless vehicles towing trailers into a terminal sway, "tail wagging the dog" mode. At 50 miles per hour! This is with my 26 years of towing experience, including some big rig time! Instead of anyone taking the time to report this, so Cal-Trans could fix the roadway, it remained a hazard. I took the action of researching the accident rates on theirs section of road. Of the 10 rollover accidents occurring in a 5 year period, 2 were fatalities. My Congressman worked with me, and Cal-Trans swiftly repaired this section of road, sparing future RVers and Truckers from our fate. Darsea, you may have to get your Highway Department off their butts and at least do a study in that area. May save a lot of lives, whether it is caused by speed, wind, road conditions or over weight trailers. It usually is driver fault, but not always!

I've lived in SoCal my whole life, and have seen 80 MPH gusting winds on the Passes overturn trailers like dominos, big rigs included. But that 20 mile stretch needs a good looking at! Cal-Trans has wind advisory signs that flash warnings in windy situations, maybe some thing simple like that would help up there. Slate

* This post was edited 01/10/06 09:02pm by fordsooperdootydieselsmoker *

S.F. socialite killed when trailer hits car

NAPA
S.F. socialite killed when trailer hits car
She dies instantly in head-on crash

Peter Fimrite, Chronicle Staff Writer

Thursday, August 18, 2005

A popular San Francisco society maven and philanthropist was killed Wednesday in Napa when an 18-foot trailer loaded with drilling equipment broke loose from a truck bed and slammed head-on into her car.

Erika Hills, 61, was pronounced dead shortly after the 11:24 a.m. crash, which closed the two-lane Silverado Trail, a half-mile north of Oak Knoll Avenue, for three hours.

The 5-ton trailer cut right through her car, killing her instantly, according to Officer Gerald Rico of the California Highway Patrol.

Hills, whose husband is from the family that started Hills Brothers coffee, was southbound on the Silverado Trail, five miles from her home in Napa, when the accident occurred.

The "fifth wheel" trailer, pulled by a three-ton Dodge Ram truck heading north, began whipping back and forth, according to witnesses. It somehow disconnected from the bed of the truck, skidded left and slammed into Hills' 1997 Mercedes.

"It went from the front fender through the Mercedes, almost splitting the car in half," Rico said. "The left doors were ripped from their hinges, and she was ejected from the vehicle."

The trailer, which was hauling equipment used to drill caves for wine cellars, then struck another car traveling behind Hills, flipping over the vehicle, Rico said. Terrance Koh, 32, and Anita Chin, 33, who were visiting the Wine Country from Washington state, were treated at St. Helena Hospital for minor injuries.

The truck driver, 29-year-old Arnulfo Avina of Angwin, was not injured.

The accident happened on a straightaway. Alcohol or drugs do not appear to be factors, and there were no reports of speeding, according to Rico. It could not be determined whether Hills was wearing a seat belt, but, Rico said, it would not have made a difference.

"We're investigating how the fifth wheel became detached from the truck," Rico said. "No charges are pending at this time, and no arrests have been made. "

Hills was known and beloved, according to friends, for her bohemian flair and sense of fun despite the fact that she circulated among San Francisco's high society. She hosted social events and fundraisers at her Tuscan-style villa in Napa and at her other home in San Francisco's Pacific Heights neighborhood, but, friends said, she never took herself too seriously.

She was a prominent supporter of the Opera and was on the board of Cal Performances in Berkeley. Among her friends was Gottfried Helnwein, a German artist who recently had a show in San Francisco.

A home design expert, she once owned Erika Hills antiques in St. Helena. Her husband, Austin Hills, once worked for the family business, Hills Brothers coffee, and is now co-proprietor and chairman of the board of Grgich Hills Cellar winery in Rutherford. Family members have made regular appearances through the years in the society columns.

E-mail Peter Fimrite at pfimrite@sfchronicle.com.

http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2005/08/18/BAGAEE9H061.DTL