1977 — Sep 24, gasoline tanker truck hits buildings/starts fires, KY 11, Beattyville, KY– 7

–7 AP. “Seven People Killed in Beattyville Fire Disaster.” Harlan Daily Enterprise, KY. 9-26-1977, p1.
–7 NTSB. HAR. Usher Transport… Overturn…Fire, St. Rt. 11, Beattyville, KY, Sep 24, 1977.

Narrative Information

National Transportation Safety Board: “Synopsis

“About 9:35 a.m., e.s.t., on September 24., 1977, an Usher Transport, Inc., tractor-cargo-tank semitrailer was descending a 12.6-percent, 720-foot-long grade approaching a left curve and a railroad/highway grade crossing on Kentucky State Route 11 in Beattyville, Kentucky. The truck, which was hauling 8,255 gallons of gasoline, crossed the tracks against the flashing red lights and in front of an approaching train and struck buildings adjacent to the edge of the road. It then overturned on top of a parked car. Escaping gasoline ignited and the fire destroyed 6 buildings and 16 parked vehicles. Seven persons died in the fire.

“The National Transportation Safety Board determines that the probable cause of this accident was the loss of vehicle control because of speed excessive for highway geometry. Contributing to the accident was the truck-driver’s lack of judgment when he failed to respond to the warnings and obey the rules of the road.

RECOMMENDATIONS

“As a result of its investigation of this accident, the National Transportation Safety Board has recommended that the city of Beattyville work jointly with the State of Kentucky to:

“Ban all parking on the west side of KY 11 from the L & N Railroad tracks to Main Street. (Class I, Urgent Action) (H-78-33)

“Coordinate with the citizens of Beattyville actions necessary to assure the prompt completion of the realignment of KY 11. (Class I, Urgent Action) (H-78-34)”

to the State of Kentucky:

“Place an activated advance railroad warning sign, extend the 25 mph zone, determine through application of current technology the safest traversable speed for the curve, and then post a turn sign and an advisory speed plate, before the crest of the 12.6 percent grade on KY 11. (Class I, Urgent Action) (H-78-35)

“Improve the surface of the rail/highway grade crossing, the skid resistance properties of the hill, and, simultaneously, the super-elevation of the curve. (Class II, Priority Action) (H-78-36)

“Develop a policy to prohibit parking adjacent to roads where restrictive geometric conditions exist. (Class III, Longer-Term Action) (H-78-37)

“Review similar downgrade to assure that the most restrictive features on or adjacent to steep downgrades are indicated before the descent begins. (Class III, Longer-Term Action) (H-78-38)
“Work jointly with Beattyville to ban all parking-on the west side of KY 11 from the L & N Railroad tracks to Main Street and to expedite acquisition of land in the area of the demolished buildings if the new alignment is to pass through this area. (Class I, Urgent Action) (H-78-39)”

On July 19, 1978, the Safety Board further recommended that:

the Federal Highway Administration:

“Expedite the implementation of the findings of the FWA study, ‘Analysis of Cargo Tank Integrity in Rollovers.’ (Class II, Priority Action) (H-78-51)

“Research the feasibility of installing energy attenuating devices capable of decelerating large runaway vehicles on steep grades where the use of adjacent property prohibits the installation of truck escape routes. (Class II, Priority Action) (H-78-52)” (NTSB. HAR. Usher Transport… Overturn…Fire, St. Rt. 11, Beattyville, KY, Sep 24, 1977.)

Newspaper

Sep 26, AP: “Beattyville, Ky. (AP) – ‘I sure never thought when I got up this morning that I’d be doing this tonight,’ said a weary member of the Lee County Rescue Squad, who joined in the search for seven persons killed here in the fiery crash of a gasoline tanker truck.

“The truck’s brakes apparently failed on a steep, 700-foot grade leading into the business district of this southeastern Kentucky town of 1,200 persons. The hill on Ky. 11 ended in a curve to the left of Vincent’s Trading Post, a small furniture store.

“The tanker crashed into the building and plowed on through Hollan’s Cut & Curl Beauty Salon, a storage area, television repair shop and, finally, Gladys’ Dinette on the corner. The cab separated from the tanker, which ruptured and spewed 8,200 gallons of flaming gasoline into the shops and toward a row of stores on the other side of the restaurant. The driver, William Wilson of Louisville, survived the crash by leaping from the cab.

“Fire heavily damaged a barber shop, flower shop, clothing store and automotive parts store, but everyone inside the buildings escaped through rear exits.

“Five of the dead – Judy Hollan Gabbert, owner of the beauty shop; Christina Bradley Hughes, Reba Davis, Vickie Moore and Tressie Fuller, all of Beattyville – were found in the beauty shop. Their bodies were burned beyond recognition and rescue workers removed them in pieces from the rubble Saturday night [Sep 24]. Mrs. Fuller was having her hair styled for her daughter’s wedding Saturday afternoon. Her name was added to the list of missing after she failed to appear at the ceremony.

“The first body recovered was that of Woodrow Wilson, a 6-foot-6 bear of a man with an artificial leg who lived alone in a small apartment above Gladys’. He was a regular customer there and it was generally believed he was in the restaurant at the time of the explosion, but Deputy State Fire Marshal Edgar Kelly said that was impossible to determine.

“As the search continued beneath a string of emergency lights Saturday night, workers became increasingly skeptical that the body of Gladys Fike, the restaurant owner, would be found. Load after load of rubble was sifted and thrown aside as the search steadily neared the rear of the building. ‘You have to do it piece by piece, brick by brick,’ said Doug Brandenburg of the Lee County Rescue Squad. ‘You’ll see them turn up a shovel and shake it, because a ring might fall out or a finger, or anything.’ Several persons among the hundreds of onlookers said they thought Mrs. Fike sought refuge in a small bathroom in the left rear corner of the restaurant. When workers finally reached the spot, they found her body slumped on the toilet seat. The flames had not reached her, and the cause of death was not immediately determined….

“….Cars parked across the street exploded like a string of firecrackers as flaming gasoline flowed in the gutter of Main Street, a narrow road that winds for five blocks along the Kentucky River. Parking meters melted on the sidewalk. Store fronts showed the scars of each car explosion. A storm sewer stopped the fire a few yards from the Beattyville Lumber Co. ….” (Assoc. Press. “Seven People Killed in Beattyville Fire Disaster.” Harlan Daily Enterprise, KY. 9-26-1977, p.1.)

Sources

Associated Press (Charles Wolfe). “Seven People Killed in Beattyville Fire Disaster.” Harlan Daily Enterprise, KY. 9-26-1977, p. 1. Accessed 10-3-2021 at: https://newspaperarchive.com/harlan-daily-enterprise-sep-26-1977-p-1/

National Transportation Safety Board. Highway Accident Report. Usher Transport, Inc., Tractor-Cargo-Tank-Semitrailer Overturn and Fire, State Route 11, Beattyville, Kentucky, September 24, 1977 (NTSB HAR-78/04; NTIS PB-282426/AS). Washington, DC: NTSB, adopted July 6, 1978. Accessed at: http://www.ntsb.gov/publictn/1978/HAR7804.htm