• 05
  • November
    2010

Take an immense 18 wheeler carrying gas. Combine that with a sharply curved ramp. Now imagine that the Texas truck driver behind the wheel is speeding on the dangerous curve. That is a perfect combination for catastrophic results.

Last Saturday, Oct. 30, that is the exact situation that a now deceased driver got himself into. At about 6 a.m. the driver was making his way onto U.S. Highway 183 when his allegedly reckless driving caused his truck to flip, crash and explode.

No matter what an 18 wheeler is carrying, a truck accident is serious. Truck drivers put their lives at risk every day that they are on the job. The level of danger does increase, however, when a driver is pulling a trailer full of gasoline behind him.

Last weekend's 18 wheeler crash exemplified that significant danger. When the truck flipped, the crash combined with the gasoline in the vehicle literally exploded into what was a fatal environment for the trucker.

It is likely that more drivers would have died in the explosive crash were it not an early Saturday morning when the fiery accident occurred. The ramp and nearby roadways were closed down for a portion of the day as a reported 75 firefighters worked hard to put out the extensive fire that consumed the truck, took a life and threatened the safety of the road on which it burned.

According to sources, the road and ramp were not damaged enough in order to endanger drivers. There is about $500,000 worth of "superficial" harm as a result of the fire, which authorities reportedly plan on getting out of the deceased driver's employer.

Source

Central Texas Digest: "Central Texas Digest: Driver dies in MoPac fiery tanker," 30 Oct. 2010