1981 — Nov 14, Hazardous Material tanker sideswipes truck, US 50 ~Canon City, CO– 8
— 8 NTSB HAR. Pacific Intermountain/Eagle…Truck…Collision…Canon City, CO, 14Nov1981
Narrative Information
NTSB: “Synopsis
“About 8:10 a.m., m.s.t., on November 14, 1981, a westbound tractor cargo tank semitrailer loaded with approximately 9,000 gallons of gasoline sideswiped an eastbound tractor-lowboy semitrailer while attempting to negotiate a right-hand curve on a three-lane highway near Canon City, Colorado. When the cargo tank of the westbound vehicle was punctured during impact, fire erupted and rapidly engulfed the two accident vehicles and a passenger car not involved in the impact. In addition to extensive property damage, eight vehicle occupants were killed and two seriously injured as a result of the postcrash fire.
“The National Transportation Safety Board determines that the probable cause of this accident was the failure of the Pacific Intermountain Express truck driver to maintain his vehicle within the proper traffic lane during an evasive maneuver in a right curve at a speed in excess of the vehicle’s critical overturn stability. Contributing to the driver’s loss of control was the driver’s cumulative fatigue. Contributing to the accident severity and loss of life were the puncture of the cargo tank and the ignition of the released gasoline cargo immediately following impact.
RECOMMENDATIONS
“As a result of its investigation of this accident, the National Transportation Safety Board made the following recommendations:
to the Pacific Intermountain Express Company:
“Establish qualifications and standard procedures for selecting new hire hazardous material drivers, and insure that the established qualifications and procedures are adhered to before a driver is allowed to perform driving duties. (Class II, Priority Action) (H-82-19)
“Incorporate in its Driver’s Manual for the Bulk Commodity Division, a requirement for drivers transporting bulk hazardous materials to promptly report the receipt of specified traffic citations, and a statement of company policy as to disciplinary actions which will be taken in the event of speeding or other unsafe driving practices. (Class II, Priority Action) (H-82-20)
to the National Tank Truck Carriers, Inc.:
“Disseminate to its membership, especially hazardous material carriers, the circumstances of this accident and urge the member companies to establish qualifications and standard procedures for selecting new operators of hazardous material vehicles. (Class II, Priority Action) (H-82-21)
“In addition to these recommendations, the Safety Board reiterates and urges expedited action on the previous recommendation made to the Federal Highway Administration on February 15, 1980, concerning disqualification rules for driver of commercial vehicles transporting hazardous materials and other commodities:
“Evaluate the need for, and feasibility of, specifying in the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations a threshold level of traffic violations, based upon the total number and relative seriousness of the violations, above which a driver is disqualified to operate a commercial vehicle, and within 1 year publish the findings of the evaluation in the Federal Register for public comment or initiate appropriate rulemaking. (H-80-17).” (NTSB HAR. Pacific Intermountain/Eagle…Truck…Collision…Canon City, CO, 14 Nov 1981.)
Newspaper
Nov 15: “Seven people died and three were injured Saturday [Nov 14] when a tanker carrying 8,600 gallows of gasoline sideswiped a flatbed truck and burst into flames on a twisting mountain highway west of Canon City. The blast and fire charred a 1,000 foot stretch of U.S. highway 50, consumed the tanker and a passenger car and burned the flatbed truck, witnesses said. The Colorado State Patrol said the car carried six people and that all were killed[1]….A passenger in the tanker was also killed….The driver of the tank truck, Frederick James, 48, of Gunnison was listed in critical condition at St. Anthony’s Hospital in Denver. He suffered burns over 80 percent of his body, a spokesman said. Leroy E. Shilling, 39, of Morton, Miss., was in critical and unstable condition at Penrose Hospital with second- and third-degree burns over 75 percent of his body, a nursing supervisor said. He was driving the flatbed truck, the patrol said. A passenger in Shilling’s truck…[female], 26 of Jackson, Miss., was in critical condition at the University of Colorado Health Sciences Center in Denver. She has second-and third-degree burns over 50 percent of her body….
“…travelers who came upon the gruesome scene along the Arkansas River said the intense heat and flames kept them from assisting the victims….” (Colorado Springs Gazette Telegraph. “7 burned to death as gas tanker, truck collide.” 11-15-1981, p. 1.)
Sources
Associated Press. “Inferno on Highway 50 killed longtime friends.” Colorado Springs Gazette Telegraph, CO, 11-16-1981, p. 2A. Accessed 5-23-2017 at: https://newspaperarchive.com/colorado-springs-gazette-nov-16-1981-p-2/?tag
Colorado Springs Gazette Telegraph. “7 burned to death as gas tanker, truck collide.” 11-15-1981, p. 1. Accessed 5-23-2017 at: https://newspaperarchive.com/colorado-springs-gazette-telegraph-nov-15-1981-p-1/?tag
National Transportation Safety Board. Highway Accident Report. Pacific Intermountain Express Tractor Cargo Tank Semitrailer, Eagle/F.B. Truck Lines, Inc., Tractor Lowboy Semitrailer Collision and Fire, U.S. Route 50, Near Canon City, Colorado, November 14, 1981 (NTSB HAR-82/03; NTIS PB82-916203). Washington, DC: NTSB, adopted June 22, 1982. Accessed at: http://www.ntsb.gov/publictn/1982/HAR8203.htm
[1] The victims were friends on their way to a funeral in California. Identified as Marvin Cleo Johnson, 66, and his wife, Ruby, 67, both of Canon City; Dan Miller, 60, of McClave; Naomi King, 72, of Canon City; Vernal King, 43, of Comanche, Texas, and his wife Suzanne, 36. “The other victim was Connie James, 32, from Gunnison, the wife of a truck driver involved in the accident.” (AP. “Inferno on Highway 50 killed longtime friends.” Colorado Springs Gazette Telegraph, CO, 11-16-1981, p. 2A.)