Tuesday, April 28, 2009

Loose Bomb Squad Trailer Under Investigation


Apr 24, 2009 9:13 pm US/Eastern

Loose Bomb Squad Trailer Under Investigation

PITTSBURGH (KDKA) ― Police are promising to get to the bottom of what they call a "very dangerous situation" – an accident involving the city's bomb squad trailer.

The 7,500-pound bomb squad trailer somehow broke free near the exit ramp from Bigelow Boulevard Thursday.

No one was hurt.

Public Safety Director Mike Huss says he's concerned.

"This is a dangerous situation and we need to be able to tow this vehicle around but we've got to make sure that this doesn't happen again," he said.

Public safety experts are painfully aware. It's happened before.

In April of 2006, an improperly installed, 6,000-pound wood chipper broke free from a truck on Route 8, killing a Cranberry man and two of his three triplets.

Last December on Route 19, a trailer came loose from a truck, killing an Ellsworth woman instantly.

It's a problem so severe that Pittsburgh Police have conducted trailer safety seminars for commercial vehicles.

Agencies from around the region have made trailer safety and enforcement a top priority.

Investigators will determine how the Pittsburgh bomb squad trailer broke free and make changes before it's used again.

"We gotta make sure first of all that everyone's trained properly, that the equipment's working properly and that something like this never happens again," Huss said.


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