Two Semis Collide - Fire Ensues; Both Drivers Perish

The following report is the product of our Cooperative State partner and is presented here in its original unedited form from the state. The findings and conclusions in this report are those of the individual Cooperative State partner and do not necessarily reflect the views or policy of the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health.

SUMMARY

One summer’s night, A 49 year-old semi-truck driver (D1), pulling a flatbed loaded with salvage cars for recycling traveled north on a three-lane state highway. D1 topped a hill, drove through a right curve when the unit rolled onto the driver’s side, slide across the center line and entered a straight stretch approximately half way to the bottom of a hill. As D1’s unit was sliding down the hill in the south bound lanes, a 52 year-old semi-truck driver (D2) hauling bottled beverages was traveling south in the straight stretch up the hill. As D1 slide down the hill, D2 tried to avoid being struck head-on and struck the guardrail. D2 was struck by D1; both vehicles caught fire and both drivers died at the scene.

Two Semis Collide - Fire Ensues; Both Drivers Perish [PDF 311 KB]