Posted by Todd Caudle on April 21, 2009 at 1:35 PM
...I can pretty much guarantee the driver of this truck is having a worse day. This was on Hwy-141 between Whitewater and Gateway. Oddly enough, the cop on hand told me the trucker was actually going UPHILL when he lost it going around this curve, jack-knifing the rig, ripping off the trailer's back gate (seen laying in the road in the foreground) and dumping sand/gravel all over the highway. The trucker said he was doing 50mph, but that's unlikely, given the extent of the twists in his rig. And yes, that is a full-length trailer behind the cab.
Luckily they had a skilled crew on hand to yank the truck upright, and so by the time I got here, I only had to sit for about 45 minutes, and not the hours it looked like it might take. Total time the highway was blocked was a few hours.
Great I-Report Todd, You should submit the shot and Story to KKTV news@kktv.com
Posted by Harold Ankney on April 21, 2009 at 5:26 PM
Holy Sh!t!! What a ride he had! I have 20+ years driving semi's( Don't want to give my age away ) and it took me like 10 minutes to figure out what might have happened. What had me confused the most is that he was traveling uphill. I will say, he was definitely traveling faster then 50 mph. In my guesstimations he was going closer to 60 to 65 mph if not more.
One question Todd, was there a lot of skid marks on the pavement?
Here is what I think happened : He was either distracted or not paying attention and seen that he was going to miss the curve and head into the rocks, so he yank the steering wheel to the right. That sent the trailer sliding towards the guardrail and also caused the load to shift. Feeling the load shift he over corrected to the left to bring the trailer back behind the tractor and that caused loaded trailer to started pushing the semi sideways. All I will say is he is one lucky S.O.B. to be alive and I hope they take his license away. Idiots like him gives a truck drivers a bad name. Looking at that photo, the air latches that hold the tailgate closed are still in the locked position. So I am thinking that the shifting load of gravel pushed the tailgate out.
When I see accidents I try to figure out what happened..
Posted by Todd Caudle on April 21, 2009 at 5:39 PM
When I see accidents I try to figure out what happened.
You don't say!
Harold, I didn't even think to look for skid marks. It can be safely assumed that he had some in his undies after this, but as for on the roadway, I'm not sure. One question: wouldn't he have cranked the wheel to the left initially? Just in case there's an optical illusion at play here, I'll point out that the truck was coming towards the camera. This view is looking downhill from the direction he came to the corner. As he came up the hill, the rocks were on his right and the roadway curved left.
Posted by Harold Ankney on April 21, 2009 at 6:15 PM
You're right Todd, he would have cranked the steering wheel to the left first. There is and optical illusion and it threw me a curve (pun intended). Man that guy was really sawing on the steering wheel trying to save it. He first turned to the left to keep the truck from hitting the rail which in turn made the trailer tires slide towards the rail. So he cranked it back to the right to keep the trailer from going over and to keep it from pushing the tractor sideways. With the brakes on the semi locked up and not having the brakes adjusted up on the trailer, the loaded trailer just pushed the tractor around.
He turned to the left then to the right and then tried to go left again to keep the trailer from getting the tractor. He didn't make it
Harold
Posted by Todd Caudle on April 21, 2009 at 7:03 PM
"...You don't say!
Harold, I didn't even think to look for skid marks. It can be safely assumed that he had some in his undies after this, but...".
Todd,
I know you are a great photographer, but, if the photo gig does not work out i feel very confident that you would knock it out of the park doing stand-up comedy!
I read that 5 minutes ago and am still laughing.
Posted by Todd Caudle on April 22, 2009 at 12:31 AM
Don't forget to tip your waitress!
Posted by Kelly Black on April 22, 2009 at 3:00 AM
Yep, I thought I was having a bad day at work this evening. This set me straight again. Wow!
Thanks for sharing this great pic!
Posted by Pam Colander on April 22, 2009 at 7:01 PM
Discussion
10 repliesLuckily they had a skilled crew on hand to yank the truck upright, and so by the time I got here, I only had to sit for about 45 minutes, and not the hours it looked like it might take. Total time the highway was blocked was a few hours.
One question Todd, was there a lot of skid marks on the pavement?
Here is what I think happened : He was either distracted or not paying attention and seen that he was going to miss the curve and head into the rocks, so he yank the steering wheel to the right. That sent the trailer sliding towards the guardrail and also caused the load to shift. Feeling the load shift he over corrected to the left to bring the trailer back behind the tractor and that caused loaded trailer to started pushing the semi sideways. All I will say is he is one lucky S.O.B. to be alive and I hope they take his license away. Idiots like him gives a truck drivers a bad name. Looking at that photo, the air latches that hold the tailgate closed are still in the locked position. So I am thinking that the shifting load of gravel pushed the tailgate out.
When I see accidents I try to figure out what happened..
Harold
You don't say!
Harold, I didn't even think to look for skid marks. It can be safely assumed that he had some in his undies after this, but as for on the roadway, I'm not sure. One question: wouldn't he have cranked the wheel to the left initially? Just in case there's an optical illusion at play here, I'll point out that the truck was coming towards the camera. This view is looking downhill from the direction he came to the corner. As he came up the hill, the rocks were on his right and the roadway curved left.
He turned to the left then to the right and then tried to go left again to keep the trailer from getting the tractor. He didn't make it
Harold
Harold, I didn't even think to look for skid marks. It can be safely assumed that he had some in his undies after this, but...".
Todd,
I know you are a great photographer, but, if the photo gig does not work out i feel very confident that you would knock it out of the park doing stand-up comedy!
I read that 5 minutes ago and am still laughing.
Thanks for sharing this great pic!