Crash kills five on Indiana Toll Road - Truckers' Trucking Forum | Message Board

Cybergal · **^ Top** #1 08.03.2006

Crash kills five on Indiana Toll Road
August 2, 2006

Quote:

Five people are dead including a truck driver following a five-vehicle crash and fire Tuesday afternoon on the Indiana Toll Road.

Trucker Clyde Roberts, 57, of Stanley, WI, was among those who were killed.
Two women and two children died in a minivan that Roberts’ truck collided with, according to Indiana State Police Sgt. Trent Smith.
Smith told “Land Line Now” on XM Satellite Radio that investigators will have a tough time reconstructing the crash scenario because the vehicles were burned almost to the ground.
“There was absolutely nothing left of the cab,” Smith said.
Smith did say that Roberts’ truck had a Wisconsin license tag, but virtually nothing else about the truck could be determined at the scene.
Investigators will try to piece together what happened beyond what they already know – that vehicles approaching a construction site about 3:45 p.m. were slowing down or stopping to merge into the right eastbound lane.
“We don’t know exactly what the pre-crash vehicle action was yet of Roberts or of the driver of the minivan (both eastbound),” Smith said.
“We don’t know if the driver of the minivan was already stopped, if she was still moving, or cut him off,” he said. “We don’t know if he was driving too fast or was driving safely.”
Police are certain, he said, that another semi, a toll-road maintenance truck and a passenger car were either slowed or stopped in the right lane because of the construction zone just before the crash happened.
“There weren’t a lot of witnesses, so that was part of the problem,” Smith said.
“It’s going to take a little bit longer than usual to reconstruct this scene because of the severity of the damage and the fire to find out exactly what was the cause, if that can ever be determined.”
Weather conditions were not a factor, Smith said, as Tuesday was clear and 90 degrees at the time of the crash.
Smith said there was evidence of skid marks and gouge marks in the pavement.
The speed limit in the region is typically 70 mph. Smith said the crash happened in a construction zone marked for 45 mph.
Investigators had not yet determined the speed of any of the vehicles at the time of impact.
“People were merging right, and as too many cars got into that right lane, people started slowing down as they funneled their way through the construction zone, and that’s how things started to get backed up,” Smith said.
In addition to the fatalities, there was one other injury in the crash. A toll-road maintenance worker was taken to a hospital with an unspecified head injury, Smith said.

landline magazine

Burky · **^ Top** #2 08.04.2006

Saw the pictures in the paper, and saw the location, right where I thought it was. Looks like a car, a pickup, and a flatbed with a steel coil on it were stopped at the 101 mile mark eastbound just past a bridge. The mini van came up and was stopped or in the process of stopping when the Millis truck came over the hill and hit the backend of the mini van. It got sandwiched between the flatbed and the Millis truck, and basically no one in there had a chance of survival.

I can't think of anything that terrifies me worse on the highway than coming to a sudden unplanned stop on an interstate, and hoping that the people behind me can get slowed down or stopped as well. I always announce a stop on the radio, and put my flashers on, but never feel safe until I have 3-4 vehicles behind me.

I feel the merge zone was poorly laid out here, because it occurred after the bridge. If the merge had been started about 1000 foot earlier, the bridge would not have blocked the view ahead and the driver might have seen the traffic stopping ahead. No merge or reason for slowing whould ever be on the downward side of a bridge, because the height of the bridge limits vision too much. My 02.

Gecko · **^ Top** #3 08.04.2006

A few months ago I came upon a bad wreck early in the morning. I was going to a job in Alamosa, Colorado (I am in the glass business now but am working towards driving truck) and came upon a horrific wreck where a semi hit an overpass concrete pillar at probably 75 miles an hour head on. There was a slight bend in the road and he apparently fell asleep. It was about 5:30 or so.
The truck literally exploded. The rear trailer wheels were over here, the cab was over there, the trailer was ripped open like a can of tuna. The tractor was so destroyed that you couldn't tell what make it was. Parts were everywhere.
I felt sick to my stomach. But I heard the next day that the driver was in good condition!
I couldn't believe it but was glad anyway.

Tip · **^ Top** #4 08.05.2006

I guess the driver was wearing a seatbelt. I saw pretty much the same thing back in 2001 on I-40. It was in Arkansas around exit 5, I believe, at Fort Smith. A west-bound Volvo truck entered the slight curve at that exit and kept going straight....right into the center bridge pylon. The driver wasn't as lucky as the driver you're talking about, though.

When I saw that, I immediately thought of all the troubles Volvo trucks had been having then with front suspension set-ups and steering axle wheel/tire failures. The driver may have fallen asleep, but maybe a suspension failure caused that crash. I never found out. I just heard via radio that it was fatal.

Burky · **^ Top** #5 08.05.2006

Volvo had some issues with tire wear being faster than people preferred. There was never any safety issues involvged, merely tire wear. They redesigned the spring hangers to lessen the amount of side to side force transmitted to the tires through the motion of the springs, and moved the fuel tanks back on the tractor to reduce the weight on the steer tires. That's all that was done.

If you can find any accident reports where the root cause of the crash was tire and wheel failure caused initially by front suspension failure, I would sure love to know about it. I've never heard of anything like that happening, and would appreciate knowing when and where it occurred.

Tip · **^ Top** #6 08.05.2006

I've heard of Volvo wheels coming off...not just the wheels, but the entire wheel assemblies. I read those stories in Land Line. Were they true? Who knows. I was skeptical then, and I'm still skeptical now.

Burky · **^ Top** #7 08.05.2006

Fine, lets assume that did happen. The wheel ends used on trucks are manufactured as a complete component by an outside company, and simply bolted onto the truck by the manufacturer. That does not mean that Volvo's are a bad truck. It may mean that a run of bad parts or simply low quality bearings got used to meet the specs set by one manufacturer.

I have never heard of a Volvo losing the entire wheel end assembly, so if that has happened, it's a new one on me. The tire wear problem that I know of only affected 98 model year trucks.

Tip · **^ Top** #8 08.06.2006

I had a hard time believing those stories, but they're all moot. Volvo has cleaned up its suspension problems, I'm sure. But I still wouldn't buy a Volvo. Not after reading about the treatment Volvo dealers were giving O/Os back during the "tire eating" era of the Volvo VNs.

MACK E-6 · **^ Top** #9 08.07.2006

There's been an awful lot of wrecks out there lately. What gives?

Sideways · **^ Top** #10 08.13.2006

Below please find a copy of a letter I sent to the Indiana State police and the Governors Office.
I am a truck driver, and have been for about 7 years.
For the last 2 years I've been traveling the Indiana and Ohio toll road and turn pike for the company I work for.
For what I believe to be the last 12 months I have witnessed at least 12 gruesome deaths between mm99 and mm121
I was told by my local news that ISP was increasing there vigilance in those construction areas within those mm's mentioned.
I travel the toll road around 4:30 AM every morning. Since the most recent accident and resulting deaths at the 99, I have yet to see The ISP anywhere.
Just to prove that I am observant,I can tell you where I do see the ISP at 4:30 AM.
MM116 car parked and empty. MM137.5 car parked and empty.MM143 on the north side of the highway in the dark.
I realize its early in the morning, but my job is far less important than yours; and I'm working!
I have become so much more aware of the danger on this road that it has literally slowed me down by 5 to sometimes 10 MPH.
I retired from the Air Force after 21 years and almost lost my wife twice to what can be a deadly illness and yet I've never been as scared as i am when approaching these 2 construction areas from either direction.
I will start sweating in an air conditioned truck when closing in on these areas.
It seems that I'm the only driver slowing to 45MPH when directed to do so.
I'm constantly passed by a multitude of cars and trucks doing 60 to 70 MPH or faster trying to pass everything before the left lane disappears. and then the brakes come on. on HARD.
You can not tell me with a straight face that the people who have died in the last 12 months did not have something to do with there own deaths. Weather the trucker was speeding or not, if you cram yourself in front of a big truck and then slam on your brakes your going to DIE. I think its a shame we don't here that on the news. Only that the trucker was found or plead guilty.
I mean, how can you find someone's dear departed loved ones at fault for anything,right.
OK, I'm done drifting now.
If you don't increase your visible vigilance in the afore mentioned areas there are going to be more deaths. Until you do that you can find me on SR120. You'll now me right away, I'm white over white and singled out. the only one doing the speed limit. Don't forget to wave.

Sincerely
Elkhart, Indiana

P.S. Copy and paste is so cool!
CC: News center 16
CC: the Governors Office
CC: News 22
CC: Department of Transpertation

Thread Tools
Show Printable Version Email this Page
Display Modes	Rate This Thread
Linear Mode Switch to Hybrid Mode Switch to Threaded Mode	Rate This Thread:

Similar Threads
Thread	Thread Starter	Trucker Forum	Replies	Last Post
Drivers complain about virtually all aspects of Indiana Toll Road	Cybergal	Truckers News	0	06.24.2008 07.37 PM
Indiana Toll Road rates increase	Cybergal	Truckers News	1	04.10.2008 12.59 PM
Bad One On Indiana Toll Road	Burky	Trucking Accident Reports	4	01.17.2008 10.22 AM
Indiana Toll Road work zones get look	Cybergal	Truckers News	1	05.11.2007 10.12 AM
Bad One On Indiana Toll Road 7 Mar	Burky	Trucking Accident Reports	7	03.09.2007 09.21 PM

Truckers' Trucking Forum/Message Board - The Premiere Truck Driver Forum
Sponsored Links

Currently Active Users Viewing This Thread: 1 (0 members and 1 guests)