Thursday, October 28, 2010

Trailer detaching from pickup truck cause of Thursday’s accident on K-10


Trailer detaching from pickup truck cause of Thursday’s accident on K-10


October 22, 2010

The Douglas County Sheriff’s office said a trailer that dislodged from a pickup truck caused an accident Thursday night on Kansas Highway 10 near Eudora.

Sgt. Steve Lewis, sheriff’s spokesman, said a trailer came loose from an eastbound GMC pickup truck about 8:20 p.m. The trailer crossed the highway’s median and entered the westbound lanes.

Briana Arensberg, 22 of Lawrence, was driving westbound in a 2006 Mitsubishi. The trailer struck her vehicle, which tipped over onto its driver’s side.

Lewis said Arensberg was taken to Lawrence Memorial Hospital with an arm injury. An LMH spokeswoman said Arensberg had been treated and released.

The pickup’s driver, Eric Dove, 46 of Linwood, was not injured. Lewis said no citations were listed on the report Friday but that the report was not yet complete.

Runaway Trailer Crashes On I-75






Runaway Trailer Crashes On I-75


A mud racing team traveling through the metro Atlanta area said they are hoping they can get to their final destination after their trailer broke loose on Interstate 75.The St. Louis group said the trailer somehow detached from their RV and drifted into traffic on I-75 near Gresham Road.Those on board the RV said they noticed sparks flying from the back-up camera monitor. PHOTOS: Runaway Trailer On I-75 Crashes

“The trailer came off the RV there, following us down the road at about 75 miles an hour, then it took out the telephone pole over there and put a big hole in the trailer,” said Dustin Strong.The St. Louis natives said they hoped they would still make it to the mud race in Florida.

Friday, October 22, 2010

Do it right, or risk killling someone Trailer Life...Loose Trailer




Trailer Life

Posted August 2 2010 11:49 AM by Mr8Lug
Filed under: Editorials, Dodge, Editor's Blog


How many times do people have to tell you to be careful when trailering? Remember this picture. Kevin Busta is lucky to be alive after someone didn’t respect the damage a loose trailer can cause. Someone decided that it would be “good enough” to use a 1 7/8-inch ball on a 2 5/16-inch hitch and then didn’t bother to hook up the safety chains. Maybe the trailer didn’t even have safety chains at all. When the trailer (predictably) came loose it shot across three lanes of highway and into oncoming traffic, directly in Kevin’s path.

Kevin hit the trailer head-on at 60 mph and his Dodge flipped end-over-end seven times, coming to rest 262 feet down the road. Kevin was airlifted to the hospital and was lucky to survive. He’s fine now, but let this horrific crash be a reminder that you can’t take trailering lightly. Thanks to Sina Norris for the photo.

Rollover on I-17 delays northbound traffic




Marc Buckhout/The Foothills
A rollover accident, at mile marker 231, involving an SUV towing an RV shutdown northbound I-17 traffic just after noon on Oct. 13. No one was injured in the accident, which caused traffic to be diverted off the freeway at Anthem Way.




Rollover on I-17 delays northbound traffic
Staff Report ~ 10/20/2010

A one vehicle accident, just north of Anthem, involving an SUV towing an RV caused a shutdown of northbound I-17 shortly after noon on Oct. 13.
Daisy Mountain Fire Department Public Information Officer Dave Wilson said that none of the four passengers or the driver of the vehicle were injured in the accident. All five had climbed out of the vehicle by the time paramedics arrived on scene. After getting a cursory exam all five refused further treatment.

The rollover accident, at approximately mile marker 231, one mile south of New River, cut off both northbound lanes of traffic causing a four-mile backup. The cause of the accident was not immediately known.

Department of Public Safety officials diverted traffic off the freeway at mile marker 229. Traffic congestion was further complicated by multiple fender benders south bound shortly after the initial accident.

Friday, September 24, 2010

Trailer containing liquid spills over, blocks two lanes on I-40 E




WBIR.com Updated: 9/16/2010 4:54:12 PM Posted: 9/16/2010 4:52:48 PM

A trailer carrying "Master Jack" drain opener spilled over and blocked two lanes of I-40 E at Seventeenth Street Thursday afternoon.

According to the Knoxville Fire Department, Don Melton from Denver, CO was hauling a 4' by 6' enclosed trailed filled with the liquid. His trailer came loose from the van and fell over blocking two lanes of I-40 E.

Melton told officials he was on the way to North Carolina to sell the liquid at a flee market.

Officers with the Fire Department worked to neutralize and dilute the product.

Thursday, September 23, 2010

CSP cites driver for trailer wreck



8/12/2010 6:00:00 AM Email this article • Print this article
CSP cites driver for trailer wreck

Reid Wright
Journal Staff Writer

A local man was cited for a loose-trailer accident that smashed a sport utility vehicle and hospitalized an Oregon woman Aug. 5 on U.S. 491 near Cortez.

Following a Colorado State Patrol investigation, Kurt Trudeau was issued a citation for careless driving causing injury regarding the incident. It is apparent the fertilizer spreader being towed by Trudeau began to fishtail, a pin came loose and the farm implement separated from the Dodge pickup and drifted into the oncoming lane, colliding with a Toyota 4Runner driven by Feryl Laney, Trooper Joshua Boden said.

According to witnesses, Laney's vehicle then spun counter-clockwise, lost control and flipped end over end - ejecting the woman. The vehicle smashed into a security gate and came to a rest on Laney's leg.

Laney is in stable condition after being airlifted to St. Mary's hospital in Grand Junction, Boden said.

Dangeroustrailers.org President Ron Melancon said accidents such as this are not uncommon. Four hundred nineteen people have been killed in trailer-related incidents in Colorado since 1975, he said. Although the state requires safety chains, there are no other regulations for trailers under 3,000 pounds, he said,

"Why do we have to wait for another person to get hurt or lose their life to do the right thing?" he said.

Further, Melancon said incidents in which trailers come loose but do not cause injury or property damage go unreported.

In this case, the fertilizer spreader is legally classified as a farm implement in the state of Colorado ­- rendering the device even more immune to regulation, Melancon said. In the state of Virginia, such devices are not allowed to travel on the road, he said.

"A farm implement is supposed to be used on a farm," he said. "We all preach personal responsibility. Would you secure a child in a child safety seat the way you secured that farm implement?"

Reach Reid Wright at reidw@cortezjournal.com.

PRILL: The Agony Of Defeat


PRILL: The Agony Of Defeat


For every success story at the SCCA National Championship Runoffs, there is one of despair. I found one such story on Wednesday.

PRILL: The Agony Of Defeat
For every success story at the SCCA National Championship Runoffs, there is one of despair. I found one such story on Wednesday.
Eric Prill | Posted September 22, 2010


At the SCCA National Championship Runoffs Presented by Subway, there are great stories of success and personal triumph. These are the stories you’ll read about on websites and in magazines. But for every success story, there is one of despair. I found one such story on Wednesday.

Some of the craziest, most frustrating stories come out of the trip to races. I’m not saying that grassroots racers are a menace to the highway, but I’ve heard my share of stories revolving around blown trailer tires, runaway trailers and stolen rigs out of hotel parking lots. Sometimes, the greatest adventure on a race weekend is getting to and from the event.

Harold Flescher had a difficult trip to the Runoffs. The 1995 F Production National Champion had motor home trouble, making his three-day trip from South Florida take a week. Weeks like that often set the stage for a Cinderella-type storybook ending, but it’s not happening for “H” this week.

On the last lap of qualifying, Harold had a good lap going in his aged, but highly-developed and really fast Austin-Healey Sprite. He admitted the car was a little loose in the Carousel, but, knowing he had a flier going, he decided to go flat through the Kink.

It didn’t work. Harold went wide, and figured he’d just hang on in the dirt at 120mph and ease it back on, but when he got back to the asphalt, the car hooked right and went straight into the wall. Ouch.

I was on track in the same session and you never like to see the yellow flags waving vigorously at Station 11 and 11A. It means there’s probably a yard sale around the bend and you hope one of your fellow racers isn’t hurt.

As I drove by the safety vehicle and Harold’s car, I was relieved to see him climbing out. Talking to him afterward by his crumpled car, Harold admitted he was sore and that he’d probably be really sore tomorrow. It was the hardest hit he’d ever had in his 40-plus years of racing.

I asked him what the future of the car was, and he said that his crew chief Peter would get the car into his shop to fix it. I was happy to hear that, because I know that Harold has thought about retirement, at least a little bit, in the last several years. He admitted that weeks like this make a guy consider if he wants to continue racing. I hope he does, but in two weeks time, he’ll celebrate his 70th birthday. Who could blame him if he decided that it was time to call it a career? But, then again, this isn’t a job or a career. This is for fun and Harold loves to race. He’s damn good at it too.

Thrill of Victory

Someone did taste the thrill of victory today—Benjamin Schaut, of Commerce Twp, Mich., won the second-annual Beat the Boss charity fundraiser for the SCCA Foundation. Each year, SCCA President Jeff Dahnert challenges all to a foot race around the four-mile Road America circuit. Proceeds go to the SCCA Foundation, which funds a number of outreach programs, most notably the Tire Rack Street Survival teen safe-driving program. Dahnert finished seventh—two spots better than 2009.

I guess I should be happy, but…

So my own session today didn’t go how I would have scripted it. All in all, it wasn’t bad, though. After day two, I’m in fourth place – a little more than a tenth out of second. A lot of people would be thrilled, but I was frustrated with how my session shook out and actually helped one of the guys in front of me by giving him a rabbit to chase and a draft. There’s always tomorrow, but the weather doesn’t look good.