Horse trailer detaches from vehicle, careens off Interstate 44

Horse trailer detaches from vehicle, careens off Interstate 44


© 2006, Springfield News-Leader

A horse trailer came loose from an eastbound vehicle towing it on Interstate 44 earlier this afternoon, sending the trailer careening off the highway, according to Springfield police.

The horse trailer ended up striking several cars parked in the Doctors Hospital parking lot.

There were no injuries, and there was no livestock on the trailer.

A van, braking to avoid the loose trailer, was rear-ended by a car in the eastbound lane of I-44. No information was immediately available regarding the conditions of the people involved in that accident.

One killed, 2 injured in accident

The Charlotte Observer

October 06, 2006

One man is dead and another suffered life-threatening injuries Friday after their car collided with a pickup truck pulling a utility trailer, authorities said.

Timothy Whitaker, 25, of Salisbury was driving a Ford Mustang out of a Denver subdivision when it collided with the truck at Grassy Creek Road, said N.C. Highway Patrol Trooper D.R. Lane.

The Mustang slid across the road and crashed into a tree about 90 feet away, Lane said. The impact spun the car around, he said, and slammed it into a nearby tree.

The passenger in the Mustang, 27-year-old Devon W. Norton of South Carolina, was pronounced dead when the Denver Fire Department arrived minutes later, Lane said.

The impact of the wreck pinned Whitaker in the car, according to a press release issued by the Denver Fire Department, and he had to be pried out of the vehicle.

Whitaker was airlifted to Carolinas Medical Center in Charlotte. His condition was not available.

The driver of the truck, 30-year-old David Young, was within a mile of his Denver home when the crash happened, Lane said. Young was taken to Lake Norman Regional Medical Center by ambulance and was released Friday afternoon, a hospital spokeswoman said.

Lane said the N.C. Highway Patrol is investigating the accident and charges had not been filed.

Copyright © 2006 The Charlotte Observer, All Rights Reserved.

Minivan smashes into cop car after boat falls off railer

Minivan smashes into cop car after boat falls off railer

Thu, October 12, 2006
By JOHN HERBERT, LONDON FREE PRESS REPORTER

An OPP officer is lucky to be alive today after yet another in a series of bizarre traffic accidents this week on Lambton County roads.

Wednesday afternoon, a car hauling a trailer with a 26-foot sailboat on Highway 402 in Sarnia fishtailed, then jackknifed when it was hit by a strong gust of wind, sending the vessel onto the highway.

Police closed Highway 402 east of Airport Road in Sarnia for about three hours.

While the road was closed, an OPP officer parked on the highway at the Airport Road exit — with his cruiser’s red warning lights activated — helped reroute traffic onto a ramp off Highway 402.

That’s when the serious trouble happened.

Const. John Reurink said the officer spotted a fast-moving minivan approaching the roadblock at about 6 p.m.

When it became apparent the minivan wasn’t going to stop, the officer ran for safety towards the median on the divided highway.

The approaching minivan hit the cruiser seconds later, flipped and rolled between the cruiser and the fleeing officer.

Fortunately, there were no injuries in the two mishaps.

The boat, extensively damaged, was eventually lifted onto another flatbed trailer. The cruiser incurred about $4,000 in damage and the minivan was demolished.

Sheryl Mendritzki, 51, of Watford, was charged with careless driving.

Norbert Lennartz, 47, of Montreal, has been charged with having an insecure load.

NEW ENGLAND IN BRIEF

Driver killed by unhitched utility trailer

June 7, 2004

A 24-year-old Salem woman driving a 1998 Volkswagen Jetta on the Lowell Connector was killed yesterday when a utility trailer connected to a tow truck broke free, became airborne, and landed on her car, which was heading in the opposite direction. According to State Police, the accident occurred at about 3:45 p.m. The trailer was being hauled by Patrick Sheehy, 27, of Lowell, police said. Sheehy had picked up the trailer a few minutes before the crash, said Trooper Thomas Ryan. The crash is under investigation, police said. No charges have been filed. The woman was pronounced dead at the scene. Her name was withheld pending family notification.

Globe Newspaper Company.

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

Family of woman killed in crash offers reward for information

Family of woman killed in crash offers reward for information

Published 07/16/2006
By WALTER LITTRELL -Kingsport Times-News

The family of a Lee County woman killed in a freak accident last month when a trailer came loose from a truck and the truck kept going is offering a $10,000 reward for information. Times-News file photo.

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JONESVILLE - The family of a Woodway woman killed in a freak accident last month is offering a $10,000 reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the driver of a pickup truck that lost the trailer that claimed her life.

Linda Sue Hyden, 49, Route 2, Box 215, Pennington Gap, died at the scene of a June 8 crash when a utility trailer came loose from its tow vehicle and slammed into her Toyota Camry. She was traveling south on Route 421 just south of Elk Knob Elementary School about 5 p.m. when the crash occurred.

Witnesses reported that the driver of a truck believed to be the tow vehicle stopped briefly a bit down the road then hurriedly left the scene without checking on Hyden. The suspect vehicle, believed to be a blue and white 1980s or 1990s style General Motors pickup truck, left the area traveling north on Route 421.

The trailer - a red, 20-foot, dual-axle, bumper-pull type with a tailgate ramp - did not have a license plate, a vehicle identification number or any other markings that would allow authorities to quickly identify the owner.

Sgt. Shawn Givens of the Virginia State Police said Friday investigators have several persons of interest in the case, and none have been eliminated. They most likely won't be eliminated until forensic evidence is back from the state laboratory in Roanoke. Givens said the evidence includes fingerprints and other items he declined to identify.

Because evidence normally takes some time to come back from the lab, he said the VSP is appealing to the public for any information that could help speed up the solving of the case.

"We are looking for any information anyone can provide because we do need help with this case," said Givens.

Trooper Clint Martin has been assigned to investigate the case, said Givens, but he is being assisted by all law enforcement in Lee County including the VSP, the Lee County Sheriff's Department and the Pennington Gap Police Department.

Anyone with information regarding the case is urged to contact the VSP at 1-800-542-8716 or (276)228-3131. The LCSD and the PGPD can be reached by calling (276)346-7777.

Lakeville father, daughter killed in crash

Lakeville father, daughter killed in crash

Updated: 05/28/2006 04:16:10 PM
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EDEN PRAIRIE, Minn. (AP) - The State Patrol has identified the two people killed in a car crash along I-494 in Eden Prairie.

Forty-six-year-old James Bergum of Lakeville and his 17-year-old daughter Grace Bergum died in the crash yesterday. James Bergum's wife and two other children of the couple were also in the vehicle.

The vehicle they were in was traveling northbound on the divided highway when it was struck head-on by a southbound vehicle towing a large trailer. A Deephaven couple and their four children were in the southbound vehicle.

The State Patrol says three people remain hospitalized.