Unhitched boat strikes vehicle; owner unidentified Posted: May 10, 2010 - 7:53pm

James and Dorothy Murray’s Kia Berrego lays upside down in the west bound lane of Interstate 40 just south of Dave Ward Drive on Monday after a boat and it’s trailer came unhitched from a vehicle driving eastbound and crossed the median into their vehicle’s path. The Murrays were transported to Conway Regional Medical Center, where they are listed in stable condition. LIBERTY PARKS PHOTO

Unhitched boat strikes vehicle; owner unidentified

Posted: May 10, 2010 - 7:53pm

By Courtney Spradlin

Two Texas residents are listed in stable condition after officials say a boat that became free of its tower struck their vehicle on Interstate 40 late Monday afternoon.

James and Dorothy Murray, ages 42 and 41, were headed west on I-40 near exit 129 when a boat and trailer being towed eastbound became unhitched and crossed the median into their path.

Cpl. G. Dycus of the Arkansas State Police said “evasive action” caused a loss of control of the vehicle, which came to rest on its roof.

The vehicle towing the boat and trailer did not stop and the hull number retrieved from the boat was not listed on file.

“There’s no record of that hull number and unless someone comes forward looking for it, we may be out of luck,” Dycus said.

Dycus said witnesses on scene could not describe the vehicle that lost its tow.

The trailer contained no tags, and several alcohol containers were found inside the boat.

Responding were Conway Police and Fire Departments, MEMS and Arkansas State Police.

(Staff writer Courtney Spradlin can be reached by e-mail at courtney.spradlin@thecabin.net or by phone at 505-1236. To comment on this and other stories in the Log Cabin, log on to www.thecabin.net. Send us your news at www.thecabin.net/submit)

Man found guilty in deadly accident

By Staff reports

Hannibal Courier-Post

Posted Apr 19, 2010 @ 04:05 PM

Carthage, IL —

An Iowa man has been found guilty of fleeing the scene and driving with a revoked license in an accident that killed a six-year-old West-Central Illinois girl.

Authorities say a makeshift trailer attached to a vehicle driven by 42-year-old Gary L. Mason of Argyle, Iowa, came loose and struck a vehicle driven by 30-year-old Lora Smajlovic of Hamilton, Ill.

The accident happened at 11:10 a.m. Dec. 28, 2009, on Ill. 96 in Hamilton. Smajlovic’s daughter, Emma, was killed. Three other passengers were injured.

Mason was found guilty in a bench trial. Sentencing was set for May 24.

Rockford man sentenced to jail for trailer accident that killed 46-year-old woman

By Nate Reens | The Grand Rapids Press

April 27, 2010, 3:10PM

Thomas DellsUPDATE: 'We all lose' says crash victim's partner after man sentenced to jail for out-of-control trailer

GRAND RAPIDS -- A Rockford man will serve up to 4 1/2 months in jail for failing to properly secure a trailer he was hauling when it came unhinged and hit an oncoming SUV, killing Toni Hall, a 46-year-old grandmother.

Kent County Circuit Court Judge Donald Johnston on Tuesday ordered Thomas Dells to the incarceration stint for the Oct. 28 crash on 10 Mile Road NE, east of Myers Lake Avenue in Courtland Township.

Dells pleaded no contest to a negligent homicide charge, an offense punishable by up to two years in jail. The plea is not an admission of guilt but is treated as such for sentencing purposes.

Dells had used duct tape as one means of securing the trailer, which he was using to haul items from a foreclosed home.

The trailer came loose from Dells' van and became airborne, flying over a car following Dells and hitting the windshield of the sedan driven by Hall.

Before sentencing, the victim's daughter told Johnston of her pain from her Hall's death.

"No matter what happens here, he is still the winner," Tiffany Drye said. "All I'm left with is an emptiness only a mother can fill."

Debra Carter, who was in the car with Hall at the time of the crash, said her injuries linger, including brain and nerve damage.

"This crash caused many who loved her a lifelong journey of pain and suffering," Carter said.

E-mail Nate Reens: nreens@grpress.com

Duct Tape and a Screw Driver To attach her trailer...Warrant out for mother in deadly December I-35 crash

LORENA

Warrant out for mother in deadly December I-35 crash

Posted: May 10, 2010 10:08 PM EDT

LORENA - Lorena Police have been investigating a four vehicle crash on December 8, 2009 since it happened.

Now, they said they have found enough evidence to issue a warrant to bring 38-year-old Mirella Meza from Missouri back to Texas on felony charges.

The warrant is for injury to a child-recklessness.

Police say Meza, who was also towing a van, and whose daughter Isabelle died in the crash, is to blame for the fatal wreck.

"The Lorena Police are alleging Ms. Meza was negligent in her care and custody of the child," Victor Kuykendoll, Lorena Police, said.

Back in December, authorities said the car simply lost control in the wet weather, but new evidence from Lorena police suggest other reasons.

According to phone records and witness accounts, Meza was supposedly on her cell phone at the time of the wreck. Her daughter was also no secured in the back seat, and she was towing another car using a hitch held together with duct tape and a screw driver.

In an open records search News Channel 25 did, it was discovered that Meza had her drivers license revoked, she's had 18 traffic violations in Missouri since 1998, including leaving the scene of an accident, five citations for driving with no license, and another four for driving while her license was either suspended, revoked, or denied.

Meza told Lorena police she would turn herself into the McLennan County Jail by Monday. So far, she is not booked in.

RCMP corral loose cattle Global News: Wednesday, May 12, 2010 2:20 PM Read it on Global News: RCMP corral loose cattle from loose trailer

They're not your usual suspects... RCMP helped corral six loose cows along a Winnipeg highway Wednesday morning.

The incident unfolded on the Perimeter -- between Henderson Highway and Lagimodiere Boulevard shortly before 9 a.m.

The cattle reportedly jumped off a moving trailer when it became unsecured.

All the cows survived the incident and only minor traffic disruptions occurred.

The 81-year-old driver is facing a charge under the highway traffic act.

Read it on Global News: RCMP corral loose cattle

Lawmaker Wants Stricter Rules on Trailer Hitches Posted Wednesday May 12, 2010 2 hours, 14 minutes ago

Lawmaker Wants Stricter Rules on Trailer Hitches

Posted Wednesday May 12, 2010 2 hours, 14 minutes ago

GREEN BAY, Wis. (WTAQ) - A state senator is looking into a possible bill for stricter rules on vehicles that pull trailers. Democrat Dave Hansen of Green Bay hopes to submit a proposal in the next legislative session which begins in January.

It’s in response to an accident last month on the Highway 41 expressway near Green Bay. A trailer broke from a pickup truck, struck a car, and killed its driver – UW-Green Bay student Whitney Radder of Kiel.

The truck driver was given 2 traffic citations for using sub-standard hitches, and towing with improper safety chains. No criminal charges have been filed, and authorities continue to investigate.

Media reports say Wisconsin has the 11th highest number of deaths involving cars that tow trailers. There were 377 such deaths and over 11,000 injuries between 1975 and 2008. And the state DOT said there were 117 citations issued in connection with trailer mishaps in the last 5 years.

May 11, 2010 Runaway trailer causes injuries

May 11, 2010

Runaway trailer causes injuries

Two Missouri motorists were injured Friday when a trailer came loose from the truck pulling it.

Randy and Debbie Dry, Ava, Mo., were driving west on Highway 60, five miles east of Wyandotte. Dakota Riggins of Springdale, Ark. was

eastbound in a 2008 Ford truck, hauling a 12-foot trailer.

Oklahoma Highway Patrol Trooper Roy Parker reported that Riggins’ trailer detached from the truck just before 5 p.m. The trailer went into the westbound lane, striking the Drys’ Ford Focus head-on.

Debbie Dry, 55, was flown by EagleMed to Freeman Hospital in Joplin, Mo., where she was admitted in poor condition. She suffered arm, leg and internal injuries. Randy Dry, 58, was flown by Med Flight to Freeman Hospital with head and arm injuries.

Riggins, 19, was not injured.