Local News
Car Crashes Semi Tanker
By
Mar 26, 2008, 02:13

About 3 pm Tuesday afternoon, a car struck a semi pulling a full load of diesel fuel and lodged itself under the tanker.  Shotwell Street, at the bypass, remained closed for over 2 hours.  We believe the driver of the car, 28 year old Jessica Lynn Luevano was not seriously injured.

The semi was pulling out of the Motiva gas terminal straight across to the entrance of the 84 bypass.  It appears the driver of the car never slowed down before striking the truck and lodging itself under the tanker.

The semi driver never saw the car coming.  He first saw the car when he looked into his rear view mirror and it was under his tanker.  Marks in the concrete show her car was dragged some 15-20 feet.

Fire Chief Dennis Mock and scenes of Tanker-Car Crash

Dewitt Phillips was coming from Bainbridge College and was one of the first on the scene.  He stated that Jessica was sitting up and talking when he and several others got to the car.  Mr Phillips stated that a truck's 6" diesel line had broken off and fuel was pouring into the car.

The good samaritans helped Jessica crawl through the passenger window and out of the car.  EMS arrived, treated her, and transported her to the hospital.  Unbelievably, Jessica's injuries appeared to only be lacerations and were not life threatening.

A tanker such as this has 4 separate containers within the tanker.  Only one tank, that contained about 2600 gallons, was ruptured.  Hundreds of gallons of diesel fuel flowed onto the road.

Public Safety fire and city crews created a damn, flowing the fuel off the road into a ditch they had dug.  A drying agent was placed on the roadway.  The remaining diesel was pumped into another tanker called to the scene.

Two wreckers were called in, one lifted the tanker about 2 ft off the ground as the other pulled the car from underneath it.  The pipes from the tanker had to be lifted out of the car to remove it.  Public Safety Fire and Decatur County Fire and volunteers were both on scene.  They covered the car with foam before the wreckers began their work and sat ready in case of a fire.

Bainbridge Fire Chief Dennis Mock stated the biggest danger was the gasoline from the car because of its lower flash point.