Note: I have researched and have found over 4,800 accidents involving
Utility Trailers as reported by newspapers In this Year. I will feature 100 as
finances allow to purchase the articles and will provide summary's for as many as possible.
1.
Newton Kansan, The (KS) - August 15, 2001
Wreck closes highway for hours
Two truck drivers were hurt and I-135 was shut down after a
trailer loaded with a mechanical bull broke loose Tuesday and careened
down the roadway. The trailer was struck about 4:30 p.m. by both
northbound and southbound semis in a construction zone on the highway
between Broadway and K-15. The collision sent both semis into the
meridian and destroyed the trailer, leaving debris scattered across the
highway."It was a mess," Rob Istas, with the Kansas Highway...
2. Erie Times-News (PA) - April 12, 2001
Trailer breaks loose, causing accident Two people were injured Thursday
afternoon when a trailer hitch broke, causing a trailer to break loose
from a truck and fishtail into the wrong lane of state Route 97. It and
an oncoming pickup truck then collided, state police said.The accident
happened at 1:16 p.m. in Union Township, west of Union City.Troopers
said Randall Meabon, 46, of Wattsburg, was driving a 1998 Dodge truck
east on Route 97, pulling a 1999 Eby trailer.Police
3.
Fort Worth Star-Telegram (TX) - April 20, 2001
Metro & Texas Digest
Fort Worth area Trailer with trees breaks loose, hits car on N.
I-35W FORT WORTH - A horse trailer carrying peach trees came unhitched
from a northbound pickup on Interstate 35W near the Basswood Boulevard
exit Thursday night, rolling across the median and hitting a southbound
Toyota head-on. A white extended-cab truck in the southbound lane then
hit the right front passenger side of the Toyota, police Sgt. Anne
Cummings said. The driver of the Toyota was...
4.
Lexington Herald-Leader (KY) - July 24, 2001
GRAND JURY TO GET FATAL ACCIDENT, 2 DIED WHEN TRAILER CAME LOOSE, HIT
TRUCK
A Cumberland County grand jury is expected to decide whether to
charge the man whose trailer slipped off its hitch and slammed into an
oncoming pickup truck over the weekend, killing two women on their way
to a church revival.Frank Patrick, 33, was hauling what appeared to be
a homemade trailer with a car tied down with a cable and a nylon cord
when the wreck occurred about 5 p.m. Saturday on Ky. 449 south of
Burkesville, said Trooper Chris Knifley of the Kentucky State Police....
5. Grand Rapids Press, The (MI) - May 18, 2001
Driver convicted in fatal crash
SOLON TOWNSHIP -- A Newaygo man was found guilty Thursday by a
Kent County Circuit judge of causing the deaths of two men when a
trailer broke loose from behind a dump truck.Eugene Lord, 57, faces up
to two years in prison when sentenced on July 31 by Judge Donald
Johnston. Johnston found Lord guilty of two counts of negligent
homicide after a five-day non-jury trial.Jasper "Buck" Smith, 78, of
Cedar Springs, and his nephew, 42-year-old Dennis Dean Smith died...
6.
St. Petersburg Times - May 24, 2001
Runaway trailer hits truck
Fuel truck driver Stephanie Butler of Tampa was shaken up
Wednesday when a flatbed trailer came loose on Interstate 4 near U.S.
92 and rammed into her vehicle, which she had stopped on the shoulder
to check. She was not seriously injured. The driver towing the trailer,
James Ellston of Tampa, was charged with driving an unsecured vehicle.
Fuel truck driver Stephanie Butler of Tampa was shaken up Wednesday
when a flatbed trailer came loose on Interstate 4 near U.S. 92 and
rammed into...
7. Standard-Speaker (Hazleton, PA) - June 12, 2001
TRAILER DETACHES FROM TRUCK
No injuries were reported after a trailer came loose from a
tractor which was driving on Owl Creek Road, Tamaqua, at 10:30 p.m.
Saturday. Tamaqua police were dispatched to the scene, and found the
tractor trailer resting on its side on the property of Anthony
Kropp.Robert C. Boyer, 66, of Liberty Street, Orwigsburg, was hauling a
trailer of crushed cars, when he believed the fifth wheel mechanism
broke, causing it to detach.Kropp’s yard and his mailbox was...
8.
The Sun - April 5, 2001
Police charge truck driver Trenching machine fell off trailer that
swerved into traffic 2 women fatally injured Clarksville
The driver of a truck whose trailer swung into oncoming traffic,
sparking a crash that killed two Clarksville women, was charged
yesterday with manslaughter.Howard County police also accused Harold
Dewayne Kitchens, 27, of Hot Springs, Ark., of failing to properly
secure the load on a flatbed trailer - two large pieces of construction
equipment, one of which came loose and toppled onto Clarksville Pike
(Route 108) during rush hour Tuesday.A Toyota Corolla driven by
67-year-old Sue...
9.
Bangor Daily News (ME) - August 23, 2001
Boat, trailer break free, collide with car
A 20-foot boat and trailer broke free from a pickup truck
Wednesday morning and collided head-on with a car traveling in the
opposite lane on U.S. Route 1 near Oyster River Road.Ettamae Hallowell,
77, of Nobleboro and her passenger, Ethel Benner, no age or town
available, who were traveling east in a 1999 Ford Escort, were taken to
Penobscot Bay Medical Center in Rockport by ambulances, Thomaston
police Detective Cpl. Michael Janczura said Wednesday.Hallowell was
admitted for...
10. The Atlanta Journal and The Atlanta Constitution - July 13, 2001
Trailer-towing adventure shifts a driver's habits
If experience is the best teacher, then my husband, Bob, and I
have been to the Harvard of trailer towing. Recently, we purchased a
Class A motor home, one of those tour bus-sized vehicles. We also pull
a small utility trailer behind it.I have long advocated that anyone who
pulls a trailer ought to use an equalizer hitch, which has two
additional spring-loaded arms parallel to the trailer tongue. Besides
doing a wonderful job of equally distributing the tongue weight -- thus
the...
11. The Knoxville News-Sentinel - November 8, 2001
* TANKER, TRAILER GO SEPARATE WAYS, GUM UP INTERSTATE 40, 700 gallons
of gasoline tank sludge spilled
A trailer carrying a 700-gallon container filled with sludge from
gasoline tanks broke free from the truck pulling it on Interstate 40
Wednesday, barely missing one car and snarling traffic for hours. The
trailer smashed into a guardrail, dislodging about 40 feet of the metal
rail and then bounced back into the three westbound lanes near the
Holston River Bridge.The impact ripped the tank off the trailer, and
the metal tank smashed onto the asphalt, spilling gasoline-tainted...
12. St. Louis Post-Dispatch (MO) - October 1, 2001
DEPUTY IS STRUCK, KILLED BY TRAILER CROSSING MEDIAN
A deputy sheriff for St. Francois County died early Sunday from
injuries Saturday when a trailer came loose from an oncoming vehicle,
went across the median and struck his patrol car, authorities
said.Deputy Sheriff Steven Ziegler, 32, died at 8:15 a.m. Sunday at St.
John's Mercy Medical Center in Creve Coeur.Leadington Police Sgt. Rick
Pogue, who handled the wreck, said the accident happened before 8 a.m.
Saturday on Highway 67 near Highway 32 in Leadington, about 65...
13. Wichita Eagle, The (KS) - August 15, 2001
AREA NEWS IN AREA AND STATE
2 injured in wreck after trailer comes loose along I-135 NEWTON -
Two people were slightly injured when a dislodged trailer was hit by
two semitrailers late Tuesday afternoon along I-135.The accident
occurred at 4:35 p.m., when the trailer, attached to a Ford pickup
heading south on the interstate, detached and went left into the
northbound lane.The trailer was hit by a Freightliner driven by Robert
McCoy, from Belton, Tex. The impact sent the trailer back into the
southbound...
14. Lewiston Morning Tribune (ID) - July 28, 2001
Around the Region
Runaway trailer wheel starts fire by Pomeroy POMEROY -- The wheel
of a trailer that came loose and landed in a dry field near Pomeroy
ignited a fire Friday that burned more than 2,000 acres of wheat and
grassland.The driver of the pickup truck pulling the trailer stopped
momentarily, but left the scene when he realized the fire had started,
according to the Garfield County Sheriff's Office.Drivers behind him
who witnessed the incident called in the fire about 2...
15.
The Sun - April 5, 2001
Police charge truck driver with manslaughter in crash 2 women fatally
injured in Howard accident
The driver of a truck whose trailer swung into oncoming traffic,
sparking a crash that killed two Clarksville women, was charged
yesterday with manslaughter.Howard County police also accused Harold
Dewayne Kitchens, 27, of Hot Springs, Ark., of failing to properly
secure the load on a flatbed trailer -- two large pieces of
construction equipment, one of which came loose and toppled onto
Clarksville Pike (Route 108) during rush hour Tuesday.A Toyota Corolla
driven by 67-year-old Sue...
16. Oregonian, The (Portland, OR) - August 14, 2001
TRAFFIC FATALITY
Lillian F. Fritchey, 65, of Wilderville died after being struck by
a trailer Sunday at 8415 S.E. Clatsop St. in Portland.Fritchey was
standing near a house at the bottom of a sloping driveway about 12:10
p.m., when a truck with a cargo trailer attached backed off the main
road. The trailer came loose, hitting Fritchey and pinning her against
the house. She died at 7:25 p.m. from multiple injuries at OHSU Hospital
17. Lancaster New Era (PA) - May 11, 2001
TRUCK-BUSTERS, NEW RANDOM INSPECTIONS FORCE UNSAFE RIGS OFF ROAD
A truck from Philadelphia drives through Lancaster City.It has no
brake lights.It has no turn signals.It DOES have a loose coupling
between the trailer and cab, a leaking air-brake system and a driver
wanted in Ohio for the theft of titanium.Adding insult to injury, the
driver has no commercial driver's license.Except for the titanium-theft
wrinkle, inspection officers say, the scenario is not as unusual as
local residents might hope as trucks travel the...
Press Republican (Plattsburgh, NY) - July 21, 2001
MOOERS — A massive collision took the life of a young Chateaugay
woman on Route 11 Friday evening.Jessica A. Malark, 22, of Chateaugay,
was killed half a mile west of St. Johns Road in the Town of Mooers
when her car was struck head-on by a trailer that had come loose from
the pickup truck pulling it.Scott A. Snide, 41, of Mooers Forks told
State Police based in Chazy that he was driving his new Chevy pickup
truck east on Route 11, towing a flatbed trailer loaded with...
19.
Fort Collins Coloradoan (CO) - January 30, 2001
State patrol attributes fatal wreck to improperly loaded equipment
JENN FARRELL The Coloradoan Improperly loaded equipment caused a
trailer to break loose from the truck hauling it last week and hit a
minivan driven by a Fort Collins woman, Colorado State Patrol officials
said Monday.The driver of the van, 43-year-old Yvonne LePlatt, died of
injuries she suffered in the wreck. Her funeral was Monday at The
Vineyard Church of Fort Collins, 1201 Riverside Ave.Charges are pending
against the truck's driver, Dennis Beaman, CSP Master...
20. Watertown Daily Times (NY) - July 22, 2001
NORTH COUNTRY BRIEFS
Trailer Comes Loose, Kills Chateaugay Woman Associated Press
MOOERS A 22-year-old woman died when her car collided with a trailer
that had detached from a pickup truck, according to State
Police.Jessica Malark of Chateaugay died instantly in the crash on
Route 11 Friday evening, police said. Scott Snide, 41, of Mooers Forks,
was driving the pickup truck, pulling the flatbed trailer loaded with
lawn mowing equipment. Police were investigating why the trailer
detached....
21. Anderson Independent-Mail (SC) - June 21, 2001
Man faces misdemeanor charges in wreck that killed woman
Charges of having an insufficient safety device on a trailer have
been filed against an Anderson man after a traffic accident Saturday
that killed a 74-year-old Starr woman.The charge is a misdemeanor
"moving violation" punishable by a fine or jail time, South Carolina
Highway Patrol spokesman Lance Cpl. Dan Marceau said.Gilberto Delona
Gonzales, 35, was charged Wednesday by the Anderson Police Department
and released on a $100 bond, Lt. Fred Purdy said....
22. Herald-Citizen (Cookeville, TN) - October 2, 2001
Algood man victim in White County wreck
An Algood man was killed in a traffic accident in White County on
Saturday afternoon, according to the Tennessee Highway Patrol. The
death of Harris Eldridge Jr., 49, of Circle Road, Algood, was caused by
a utility trailer which came loose from another vehicle and hit
Eldridge's car head-on, according to the THP.It happened on Highway 136
near the Saylors Crossroads area in White County on Sept. 29 just after
1 p.m., according to a report by State Trooper Brian...
23. Daytona Beach News-Journal (FL) - October 22, 2001
NEWS WATCH
Bike hauling trailer flips; couple hurt SCOTTSMOOR -- A Merritt
Island couple on a motorcycle were bounced off the bike on U.S. 1
Sunday morning when a small trailer they were pulling twisted loose and
caused the bike to flip, Florida Highway Patrol troopers said.Joseph
Gagnan and his wife, Samantha, were taken to Halifax Medical Center in
Daytona Beach by ambulance.Joseph Gagnan was listed in stable condition
in the intensive care unit. Samantha Gagnan was treated in the...
24.
Anderson Independent-Mail (SC) - June 20, 2001
74-year-old woman dies after "freak" traffic accident
A 74-year-old Starr woman died at the hospital Wednesday from
injuries suffered Saturday afternoon when a runaway utility trailer
rammed into her car's front windshield.Mildred Patterson Land of 232
Travis Road in Starr never regained consciousness after the wreck. She
died at the Anderson Area Medical Center around 7:30 p.m. Tuesday.Her
car was traveling south on Murray Avenue on Saturday when an empty
trailer broke loose from a truck, crossed into oncoming traffic and
25.
Cincinnati Enquirer, The (OH) - February 4, 2001
Collision ties up I-71, but injuries to 2 slight
By Tim Bonfield The Cincinnati Enquirer A couple headed to Florida
from Cleveland for a month's vacation escaped serious injury Saturday
night when the travel-trailer they were towing flipped over several
times after a collision on Interstate 71."We're real lucky more people
weren't hurt," said Capt. Rodney Wilson of the Deer Park - Silverton
Fire Department, which responded to the call.The trailer was being
towed...
26. Times, The (Trenton, NJ) - November 26, 2001
SUV hits truck on I-195 median
WASHINGTON TOWNSHIP _ A man from Brick suffered a gash to his
forehead after he ran into a truck that police said was illegally
parked on Interstate 195 West.About 2 p.m., another vehicle, towing a
horse trailer, pulled onto the shoulder of the highway near Exit 8
because the trailer was loose, said Trooper Jeremy Russ of the
Wilburtha station.The motorist took the horse out of the trailer and
tried fixing the connection, Russ said. That caused other drivers to
slow down and look. One...
27.
Seattle Post-Intelligencer - January 9, 2001
ACCIDENT SAPS POWER TO SAN JUAN ISLANDS
A traffic accident in Anacortes downed a power line that left San
Juan Islands residents without electricity for several hours
yesterday.A trailer broke loose from the truck pulling it, crashing
into a power pole near the ferry landing in Anacortes just before 12:30
p.m., said Doug Bechtel, general manager for the Orcas Power and Light
Cooperative. The pole carries the primary power line to the islands, he
said.As a result of the accident, the cooperative's 11,000 members...
28. Kitsap Sun (Bremerton, WA) - June 14, 2001
9KINGSTON TRAFFIC-STOPPER: Backhoe accident injures no one
By Julie McCormick, Sun Staff A spectacular accident near the
ferry terminal in Kingston on Wednesday afternoon miraculously injured
no one. A dump truck pulling a trailer with a large backhoe on it
appeared to lose control as it came down the steep slope of Ohio Avenue
parallel to the ferry lanes, reported firefighters, who heard the
details from bystanders.The truck and trailer crossed both ferry
traffic lanes, which were empty at the time. Then the driver attempted
a sharp right...
29.
Fort Collins Coloradoan (CO) - January 25, 2001
Trailer comes loose, kills passing driver
By JENN FARRELL The Coloradoan A 43-year-old Fort Collins woman
was killed Wednesday when a 35-foot flatbed trailer loaded with two
Bobcats hit her minivan on Timberline Road.Yvonne LePlatt was driving
northbound on Timberline between Pros-pect Road and Mulberry Street
around 4 p.m. when a southbound dump truck lost the trailer carrying
the small skid loaders. The trailer crossed the center line and struck
LePlatt's minivan, peeling the roof off of the purple Ford...
28. Register-Mail, The (Galesburg, IL) - May 7, 2001
in fair condition
Boy fair after ATV accident KNOXVILLE - A 12-year-old Galesburg
boy is in fair condition at OSF St. Francis Medical Center in Peoria
after falling off of a four-wheel all terrain vehicle and being run
over by a trailer Sunday morning.According to the Knox County Sheriffs
Department, Benjamin Irwin, 12, 707 Fleisher Road, Galesburg, was
riding facing backward on a 1984 Honda TRX 200 driven by Douglas J.
Weis, 40, 776 Eiker Drive at 10:10 a.m. Sunday in the 800 block of
Eiker Drive....
29. Lawton Constitution, The (OK) - August 1, 2001
Smash-Up
Copyright 2001 by The Lawton Constitution, All rights Reserved.
Police officers, firefighters and others work to clear the scene of an
accident Tuesday on East Gore Boulevard. Lawton Police Department
Master Officer Bob McGlothin said the accident occurred when a trailer
loaded with ice came loose from a truck and drifted into oncoming
traffic. It smashed into a 1992 Dodge Dynasty driven by Lisa Womack.
Her car then slammed into a truck. Womack was being held at a local
hospital for observation...
30. The Sun - April 8, 2001
Police seek witnesses to accident that killed 2 Clarksville women
Howard County police want to talk with anyone who might have
witnessed an accident on Route 108 that killed two Clarksville women
Tuesday.Just before 5 p.m., a truck eastbound on Route 108, also known
as Clarksville Pike, was towing a flatbed trailer that carried two
large pieces of trenching equipment. The trailer slid into the
westbound lanes.One piece of equipment came loose and hit a white
Toyota Corolla driven by Sue Marie Miller, 67. The trailer then hit a
blue Dodge Grand...
31. News-Press, The (Fort Myers, FL) - November 19, 2001
Man killed in I-75 crash on Saturday identified
By MIKE NEMETH mnemeth@news-press.com The Florida Highway Patrol
has identified a man killed early Saturday morning on Interstate 75 as
Jose Piloto, 70, of Naples.FHP troopers said Piloto, of 1818 Benton
Road, was killed after losing control of his pickup just after 4
a.m.According to the FHP, Piloto was heading north on the interstate
near Bonita Beach Road, pulling a horse trailer with his pickup.Initial
FHP reports said Piloto attempted to steer from the left lane into
the...
