Accidents in 2006
NOTE: This year 419 lives were lost, 20,346 were injured and 42,520 vehicles, trailers and other items were either destroyed or damaged.
This
data vastly underestimate the true magnitude of this public safety
issue.
Not all accidents are reported and the Uniform Traffic Accident Report does not have a section for Utility Trailers.Note: I have researched and have found over 5,000 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.
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2 killed in crash; 3rd hurt Trailer hits students' SUV after coming loose, crossing I-30 median
Two Texas A&M University-Commerce students were killed and one was injured over the weekend when their SUV was hit by a trailer that came loose from a truck and crossed the Interstate 30 median just east of Royse City. The women were returning to campus after a tubing trip, said university Police Chief Donna Spinato.The survivor, identified as Rachel Ashley Bates, 18, of Commerce, was released Monday from Parkland Memorial Hospital in Dallas, authorities said.Flags...
10. Salina Journal, The (KS) - December 15, 2006
Loose tire, wheel damage two vans and mobile home
Two vans and a doublewide mobile home were damaged Tuesday night after all three were struck by a tire and wheel that came loose from a trailer. Glen Frydendall, 540 S. College, was northbound on Centennial Boulevard, just north of West Cloud, at 8:10 p.m. in a pickup truck that was pulling a car trailer. The left front trailer tire and wheel came loose and struck the front bumper of a southbound van, driven by Jeanette A. Jacobsen, Wellington, Colo.The wheel then went back into the...
11. Kansas City Star, The (MO) - January 5, 2006
News
Lee's Summit Fatal crash A 59-year-old Independence man died Wednesday after a trailer broke loose from a truck and caused a three-car wreck that temporarily shut down U.S. 50 in Lee's Summit. Emergency crews were called about 8:40 a.m. to U.S. 50 between Third Street and Chipman Road. A truck pulling a flatbed trailer was traveling west on U.S. 50 when the trailer came loose.The trailer went into the grass median and then into the highway's
12. Marin Independent Journal (San Rafael, CA) - June 26, 2006
Loose trailer causes 4,000 to lose power
A small trailer that broke loose from a vehicle, struck a pole in San Anselmo and caused a power outage early Sunday morning, police said.The outage affected about 4,000 people, police said.Roger Christiansen of Fairfax was driving east in the 900 block of Sir Francis Drake Boulevard at about 5:45 a.m. Sunday when the trailer he was towing released from the rear of the vehicle, police said.It rolled off the road and hit a power pole, according to San Anselmo police.Several...
13. Sun, The (San Bernardino, CA) - August 18, 2006
Sig-alert issued in five-car freeway crash
FONTANA - A stakebed truck driver, whose forklift came loose from his trailer, triggered a five-car pileup on Interstate 10 this morning.California Highway Patrol officers issued a Sig-alert and closed down the fast lane and the one next to it on the eastbound 10 at Cherry Avenue. The Sig-alert was expected to be in effect about an hour, said CHP Officer Sean Cooper.Officers said the 7:45 a.m. crash occurred when several drivers were unable to avoid a forklift that came loose from a...
14. Telegraph Herald (Dubuque, IA) - June 26, 2006
Iowa Briefs
Woman killed in accident identified ROLAND - Authorities have identified a central Iowa woman who was killed when her car was struck by a utility trailer that came loose from a truck traveling in the opposite direction. Jayne Nelson, 56, of Roland, died at the scene Friday afternoon. Officials said Nelson was traveling north in her 2001 Chevrolet Impala when the trailer, which was carrying an end-loader, came loose from a truck traveling in the opposite direction and crossed the...
15. Daily Herald (Arlington Heights, IL) - August 21, 2006
Don't run away from trailer safety
A safe trip when pulling a trailer should always be first and foremost. I will never forget the time I was driving north on the West Virginia Turnpike when a pickup truck passed me pulling a trailer with a NASCAR display car. Just after the truck passed me the trailer came unhitched and took off running wild. We were going up a steep grade and by the luck of the draw, the trailer ran into a bank and stopped. Of course I now watch with care when all trailers approach me when I am driving....
16. Ventura County Star (CA) - December 30, 2006
Driver flees after crash on 126
Two portable toilets were destroyed Friday when a tractor-trailer collided with a loose flatbed trailer on Highway 126 near Fillmore, the California Highway Patrol reported.The accident occurred about 10:50 a.m. when a pickup pulling the toilets on a flatbed trailer drove across the Fillmore railroad crossing heading east.The trailer disconnected and a tractor-trailer, which was heading west, struck it."It obliterated the Port-A-Potties," said CHP Officer...
17. News Tribune, The (Tacoma, WA) - July 13, 2006
Most who tow admit knowing little about safety
As the sale of boats, all-terrain vehicles and camping trailers rise, the number of accidents and injuries involving trailers has risen 20 percent.That's the findings of a study, "Towing Troubles: Danger on America's Road" by Customer Profiles and Master Lock.More than 65,000 crashes involving passenger vehicles towing trailers occurred in 2004, jumping nearly 20 percent from the previous year, according to the National Highway Traffic...
18. Register-Guard, The (Eugene, OR) - June 30, 2006
Runaway trailer hits pickup, kills driver
ROSEBURG - An off-duty Douglas County sheriff's deputy was killed Wednesday night on Highway 42 when his pickup was struck by a trailer that had come loose from the vehicle towing it.Dallas Wesley Butler, 43, of Roseburg was pronounced dead at the scene of the 7:15 p.m. crash west of Camas Valley. Butler's pickup was headed east on the highway when a loaded chip trailer towed by a westbound Freightliner truck detached and crashed into the pickup, Oregon State Police...
19. Pantagraph, The (Bloomington, IL) - July 23, 2006
Towing shouldn't be left to amateurs
Here's a question for those who tow a trailer or boat. What's the towing capacity of your vehicle?Here's another; What's the maximum capacity of your trailer hitch?Don't know? You're not alone, according to "Towing Troubles: Danger on America's Road," a study by Customer Profiles, Ltd., and Master Lock.The recent research suggests failure to know the answers to simple...
20. Harlan Daily Enterprise, The (KY) - June 13, 2006
Virginia police seeking information on hit-and-run wreck
The Virginia State Police are looking for the person involved in a hit-and-run crash Thursday near Pennington Gap which killed a woman in her vehicle.VSP Sgt. Michael T. Conroy contacted the Enterprise on Monday seeking assistance in locating the owner of a utility trailer involved in the crash.The trailer apparently broke loose from a pickup truck on U.S. 421 and struck a 2002 Toyota Camry driven by Linda Sue Hyden, 49, of Pennington Gap, Va."We are still looking for...
21. Knight-Ridder/Tribune Business News - June 9, 2006
Beaufort crash kills one
Jun. 9 BEAUFORT A Carteret County woman was killed and two of her family members injured Thursday after a utility trailer carrying lumber came loose and struck their vehicle.Lilly Lawrence Nelson, 70, of the Gloucester community, died at the scene of the fatal collision that occurred on U.S. 70 near East Carteret High School in Beaufort, said Trooper Marvin Shadday of the North Carolina State Highway Patrol.Nelson was the front passenger in a car driven by her daughter, Lori Lawrence...
22. Knight-Ridder/Tribune Business News - November 28, 2006
Truck loses boat at busy NN intersection: No one was injured when the boat hit three cars stopped at Jefferson Avenue and Oyster Point Road.
Nov. 28 NEWPORT NEWS A boat came loose from a trailer and collided with three cars at a busy Newport News intersection late Monday night. No one was injured.A pickup truck pulling a white 19-foot motorboat was crossing Jefferson Avenue on Oyster Point Road, heading west, when the trailer came unhinged and sent the boat sailing into a line of facing cars waiting to turn left onto Jefferson.The accident happened just before 9 p.m. and snarled traffic at the crossing of Newport...
23. News-Star, The (Monroe, LA) - July 16, 2006
Trailer comes loose, flips along U.S. 165
No one was injured Saturday afternoon when a trailer came off of a pickup truck on U.S. 165 north.Gordon Hemphill of West Monroe was traveling south on U.S. 165 shortly after 1 p.m. when the trailer ball came off the trailer he was pulling, causing the trailer to flip on its side, he said. The wreck occurred near Ouachita Christian School.Hemphill, who owns Dirt Contractor Inc. in West Monroe, was not injured. He was hauling a Bobcat tractor at the time of the accident. His white Ford...
24. Victoria Advocate, The (TX) - August 17, 2006
Bay City man killed in accident
BAY CITY - A Bay City man was thrown from his pickup and killed Saturday when he lost control after the boat and trailer he was towing came unhitched, officials said.Jeffery Gordon Boots, 39, and his passenger, Alfredo Rodriguez, 39, both of Bay City, were traveling north on Farm-to-Market Road 457 towing a 10-foot sailboat.Boots looked down at his dash for a moment and swerved onto the shoulder to the right, according to the passenger's statement, said Department of...
25. Tennessean, The (Nashville, TN) - March 27, 2006
Crash blocks I-65 lanes; 2 people sent to hospital
Southbound traffic was routed off of Interstate 65 after a pickup truck hauling a trailer crashed and blocked the lanes near mile marker 103 in Sumner County last night.A LifeFlight helicopter took two people to Vanderbilt University Medical Center after the wreck, which occurred when the trailer they were pulling came loose. The driver of the truck lost control of the vehicle, said Melissa McDonald, Tennessee Highway Patrol spokeswoman.The truck ran off the road, crashed and trapped...
26. Chronicle, The (Centralia, WA) - July 28, 2006
Loose utility trailer runs into sheriff's deputy patrol car
A runaway trailer on North Pearl Street in Centralia crossed into the oncoming lanes and struck a deputy's patrol car on Wednesday. Nobody was injured.The driver of the pickup truck, 65-year-old David Spencer of Centralia, was cited for allegedly failing to secure his load.It happened just after 11 a.m. at the Skookumchuck River bridge near the north end of town.The Washington State Patrol reported that Spencer was traveling southbound, and, when he got onto the...
27. Chronicle, The (Centralia, WA)
July 28, 2006 Section: News Loose utility trailer runs into sheriff's deputy patrol car
A runaway trailer on North Pearl Street in Centralia crossed into the oncoming lanes and struck a deputy's patrol car on Wednesday. Nobody was injured.
The driver of the pickup truck, 65-year-old David Spencer of Centralia, was cited for allegedly failing to secure his load.
It happened just after 11 a.m. at the Skookumchuck River bridge near the north end of town.
The Washington State Patrol reported that Spencer was traveling southbound, and, when he got onto the bridge, the 4-feet-by-4-feet utility trailer he was pulling disconnected.
It struck a northbound Lewis County sheriff's deputy's patrol car. Deputy Tracy A. Day, 33, wasn't hurt, but the collision left about $3,000 damage on the driver's side of the 2001 Ford Crown Victoria.
A spokesperson for the WSP said the truck driver didn't tighten the ball on the hitch, and had secured only one of two safety chains.
Both vehicles were still drivable.
Copyright, 2006, The Chronicle, Centralia WA
Record Number: 1132A9CD149B7F58
28. King County Journal (Bellevue, WA) - May 2, 2006
Runaway trailer rolls down road, injuring woman
Journal Reporter RENTON -- A woman was taken to Harborview Medical Center in critical condition Friday after her small pickup truck was struck by a runaway trailer loaded with tons of boulders that had come loose from a dump truck.The woman's name and condition weren't released, in part due to federal privacy rules, but officials say she was between 35 and 50 years old.Witnesses said the dump-truck-pulling trailer seemed to struggle on its way up steep...
29. Daily Record, The (Kansas City, MO) - November 22, 2006
Suit claims negligence caused father's death in trailer-SUV crash
The accident is one of the worst Todd Hilton has seen during his legal career. A runaway flatbed trailer that had become separated from the truck that was pulling it sliced through Charles Lewis' Ford Explorer on U.S. Highway 50, causing his horrific death and leaving a path of destruction. "This was about as bad as an entangled mess that I have seen," Hilton said "And that includes doing railroad litigation." Now Lewis'...
30. Red Bluff Daily News (CA) - July 3, 2006
Runaway trailer crashes
An empty trailer that broke loose from a truck crashed into a hotel room at the Cinderella Motel on Rio Street about 3:18 p.m. Saturday, according to the Red Bluff Fire Department.No injuries were reported. No further information was available Sunday.Daily News photo by Rebecca Wolf --------- Assistant News Editor Rebecca Wolf can be reached at 527-2153, extension 110. or at clerk@redbluffdailynews.com ...
31. Commercial Dispatch, The (Columbus, MS) - May 14, 2006
Woman ‘lucky’ after runaway trailer crashes into her car
A Caledonia woman walked away from an accident Saturday afternoon almost unharmed. But a few inches and her story could have been much worse.“She was one lucky woman,” Columbus Police Officer Kevin Brown said of Jessica Dennis, 20, of 784 Cal-Kolola Road in Caledonia. “If the hood and engine hadn’t taken the brunt of it, the trailer tongue would have come right in to her.” Dennis was southbound on Highway 45 in a...
32. Red Bluff Daily News (CA) - July 3, 2006
Runaway trailer crashes
An empty trailer that broke loose from a truck crashed into a hotel room at the Cinderella Motel on Rio Street about 3:18 p.m. Saturday, according to the Red Bluff Fire Department.No injuries were reported. No further information was available Sunday.Daily News photo by Rebecca Wolf --------- Assistant News Editor Rebecca Wolf can be reached at 527-2153, extension 110. or at clerk@redbluffdailynews.com ...
33. Pottsville Republican, The & Evening Herald (PA) - January 21, 2006
Trailer slams into Lost Creek porch
LOST CREEK - West Mahanoy Township police reported no injuries in an accident that occurred in front of 530 Mount Olive Blvd., Route 54, in this village at 2:15 p.m. Wednesday.Police said the accident occurred as Robert J. Ferrari, 47, of 213 Preston Ave., Girardville, was driving a 1987 Chevrolet pickup truck east pulling a 2000 Kutz 18-foot flatbed trailer owned by Anthracite Auto Sales, Girardville.While passing the home of Robert J. Brann Jr., the trailer broke loose from the
34. San Jose Mercury News (CA) - June 24, 2006
NORCAL TRAILERS SAFE, AS PER CHP INSPECTION
Q I am concerned for the public safety of the residents of San Jose who are serviced by Norcal for the yard waste.I am fairly certain that the trailers they use to haul their loaders that pick up loose yard waste on the street are illegal.The hitch and trailer brakes are not capable of safely and legally transporting that equipment.Could you look into this?Anonymous San Jose A The trailer has been inspected by the CHP and passed, said J. Lindsey Wolf, the......
35. Bangor Daily News (ME) - April 5, 2006
News in brief LINCOLN: TRUCK MISHAP STALLS WEST BROADWAY TRAFFIC
Traffic on West Broadway stalled for about an hour Tuesday morning as a trailer carrying 4-foot spruce tree logs came loose from the truck hauling it when the truck turned from River Road, firefighters said. No one was injured. The truck from Treeline Inc. of Lincoln was slowly turning onto West Broadway at about 8:40 a.m. when its fifth wheel pin popped loose and the truck and trailer separated, firefighters and company officials said. It was fortunate that the truck was barely moving, as the...
36. Gazette, The (Cedar Rapids-Iowa City, IA) June 24, 2006
Page: 7B
IOWA NEWS
Associated PressBy Associated Press
Women killed in crash after trailer comes loose
ROLAND - A Roland woman was killed Friday after a trailer detached from a truck and struck her vehicle head-on near this central Iowa city.
Authorities have not released the name of the 56-year-old woman.
The collision happened about 2:15 p.m. after a utility trailer being towed by a Ford truck came loose, crossed the center line of 150 Avenue and struck the woman's car, according to the Story County Sheriff's Office.
37. Ukiah Daily Journal (CA) - August 2, 2006
Willits fire almost out, Hunter fire still a problem
Air quality affected in Ukiah Valley Firefighters are in hot demand as multiple blazes around the county -- and state -- consume not only vegetation, but local resources.The Walker Fire -- closest to home -- located off Highway 101 just south of Willits, near the entrance of the Willits Municipal Water Treatment Plant, broke out just before 4 p.m. Monday, when a trailer hitch on a motor home towing a trailer came loose and created sparks along the highway, causing the adjacent..
38. Standard-Speaker (Hazleton, PA) - January 24, 2006
WMAHTWP Police
The West Mahanoy Township Police Department is investigating a traffic accident that occurred Wednesday in the Lost Creek section of the township. According to police, Robert J. Ferrari, 47, of 213 Preston Ave., Girardville, was traveling east on Mount Olive Boulevard, Route 54, and towing a trailer when it broke loose from the hitch, crossed the westbound lane, and struck the front porch of a home owned by Robert J. Brann, Jr., 530 Mt. Olive Blvd., Lost Creek.The force of the...
39. Standard-Speaker (Hazleton, PA) - September 14, 2006
An Allentown-based trucker was wearing his seat belt and escaped injury when his vehicle crashed on southbound Interstate 81 in Rice Township Monday afternoon, according to state police at Hazleton
An Allentown-based trucker was wearing his seat belt and escaped injury when his vehicle crashed on southbound Interstate 81 in Rice Township Monday afternoon, according to state police at Hazleton. Trooper James Stroup said Joshua Skelton, 25, lost control of his 1998 Ford box truck while hauling a camper trailer, the rig traveling onto the right shoulder where it struck a guiderail.The trailer then broke loose and rolled onto its side and coming to rest in the right lane...
40. New Castle News (PA) - July 4, 2006
Daily Record July 4
Police NEW CASTLE *Burglary. Someone broke into a house in the 1100 block of Agnew Street between 6 and 11:45 p.m. Saturday. The back door was kicked in and $395 was stolen.SHENANGO TOWNSHIP *Accident. Police said Robert Freeborn, 69, of Bradenton, Fla., was westbound on Route 422 just before 5 a.m. Monday when the trailer from his truck broke loose. The trailer hit four Pennsylvania Department of Transportation signs and a utility pole, then flipped in the intersection of Routes
41. Journal Gazette (Mattoon, IL) - March 11, 2006
Siren report
Mattoon police Vehicles driven by Chad E. Ankenbrand of Greenup and Olen H. Cline, 63 Moultrie Ave., collided at 3:59 p.m. Monday at Charleston Avenue and Lake Land Boulevard. Ankenbrand was hauling a trailer when it came loose from a pickup hitch, and hit Cline's car. - - - At 1:36 p.m. March 3, Jack E. Horsley, 913 N. 31 st Street, lost control of his car when he hit the accelerator pedal instead of the brake, causing the vehicle to hit a parked jeep at 3301 Richmond...
42. King County Journal (Bellevue, WA) - May 2, 2006
Runaway trailer rolls down road, injuring woman
Journal Reporter RENTON -- A woman was taken to Harborview Medical Center in critical condition Friday after her small pickup truck was struck by a runaway trailer loaded with tons of boulders that had come loose from a dump truck.The woman's name and condition weren't released, in part due to federal privacy rules, but officials say she was between 35 and 50 years old.Witnesses said the dump-truck-pulling trailer seemed to struggle on its way up steep...
43. Mountain Democrat (Placerville, CA) - January 30, 2006
Diesel spill alarms residents
KELSEY - El Dorado County environmental officials, the California Office of Emergency Safety, and the U.S. Department of Fish and Game were dispatched to the scene of a diesel fuel spill at the corner of Bayne Road and Stewart Mine Road in Kelsey last Thursday evening. A local man was transporting a 200 gallon fuel tank on a trailer at about 5 p.m. when the tank came loose as the trailer turned onto Stewart Mine Road, a private road, according to Dave Johnston, a hazardous materials...
44. Baxter Bulletin, The (Mountain Home, AR) January 13, 2006
Edition: The Baxter Bulletin Page: 3A
Loose trailer crashes building
No injuries were reported when a wayward trailer crashed into a business on State Highway 5 North Wednesday evening.
Lyle E. Johnson, 65, of Mountain Home was traveling south on the highway in a 2003 Ford pickup, pulling a utility trailer.
The trailer came loose, passed Johnson's truck and struck Butler Furniture, according to a report by Mountain Home Police Officer Rodney Villiger. The trailer took out a support pillar and a large storefront window.
Damage was estimated at $5,000.
45. Macon Telegraph, The (GA) August 11, 2006
Edition: HOME Section: B
POLICE: TRAILER IN FATAL ACCIDENT HAD NO SAFETY CHAINS
Author: Tim Sturrock, TELEGRAPH STAFF WRITER
Macon police are investigating whether a city-owned trailer that detached from a truck and killed a man Tuesday was required by law to have safety chains keeping it in place, police said.
According to an accident report, the trailer that killed motorist Carlos Dorn, 36, didn't have a safety chain attaching it to the truck. Safety chains are designed to keep trailers attached to vehicles even when the hitch comes loose.
Tuesday, Dorn was traveling north on Riverside Drive as a Macon-Bibb County Parks and Recreation Department truck, driven by 50-year-old Hugh Edwards, was traveling south, police said. A utility trailer carrying a lawn mower detached from Edwards' truck, veered into the northbound lanes and struck Dorn's GMC Jimmy, police said.
Macon police officer Darrin Marcus said police are investigating whether the city-owned trailer should have had a safety chain.
He said no charges have been filed in the case.
"There are still things we have to determine before we say who is at fault on this," Marcus said.
He said the case is needs blood tests completed for Dorn and Edwards, as required by procedure.
Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration spokesman Ian Grossman said no federal regulations or laws pertain to safety chains on utility trailers.
Trooper Larry Schnall, Georgia State Patrol spokesman, said Thursday afternoon that he would have to research whether safety chains are required by any state laws or regulations.
Macon Mayor Jack Ellis' spokesman, Ron Wildman, said he could not find out whether any parks and recreation trailers had safety chains because director Mike Anthony was out of town.
Copyright (c) 2006 The Macon Telegraph
Record Number: 0608110041
46.
Articles Of Interest and Supporting Information
1. Knight-Ridder/Tribune Business News - July 13, 2006
Most who tow admit knowing little about safety
Jul. 13 ON THE net Master Lock's annual Towing Troubles research on how Americans tow, knowledge of towing practices, and safe towing tips are at www.towingtroubles.com. As the sale of boats, all-terrain vehicles and camping trailers rise, the number of accidents and injuries involving trailers has risen 20 percent.That's the findings of a study, "Towing Troubles: Danger on America's Road" by Customer Profiles and Master...
2. Beacon News, The (Aurora, IL) - October 1, 2006
How big a trailer can you tow with a small rig? Rolling Homes
With more RVers looking at their smaller family vehicles as potential tow rigs, the question of maximum trailer size often arises. Although every tow vehicle manufacturer establishes a maximum tow rating for each rig, buyers often ask how long a trailer they can safely tow, rather than how heavy it can be.It's a good question. A smaller tow rig, such as a compact SUV or minivan, has a relatively short wheelbase and seemingly small overall size compared to the RV box coupled...
3.
