THE DEADLY U.S. ROADS: 6 KILLED (2 CHILDREN), 12 INJURED IN 9-VEHICLE FIERY CRASH NEAR A WORK ZONE ON I-75, NEAR CHATTANOOGA, TENNESSEE. TRACTOR TRAILER REAR-ENDED STOPPED VEHICLES.

JUNE 26, 2015

CHATTANOOGA, TENN.

NTSB INVESTIGATING MULTI-VEHICLE CRASH IN TENNESSEE

JUNE 26, 2015

The National Transportation Safety Board is sending a go-team to investigate yesterday’s multi-vehicle accident in Chattanooga, Tennessee.  Six fatalities have been reported.

NTSB senior highway investigator Pete Kotowski is leading the team as investigator-in-charge. The team is expected to arrive this evening. 

Public Affairs Officer Keith Holloway will coordinate media-related activities from Washington, DC.

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JUNE 26, 2015

Two children are among the six people dead after a nine-vehicle crash on I-75 yesterday.

Police said eight of the nine vehicles involved in the fatal crash were stopped in the road because of construction when a tractor trailer came up from behind, was unable to stop and plowed into the vehicles.

Eighteen people were involved in the wreck. Six were taken to a local hospital and six required no medical treatment, according to police. 

Four people killed were in one vehicle, which was on fire, police said. The children were inside that vehicle. The other two people were killed in separate cars.

Police identified the truck driver as 39-year-old Benjamin Scott Brewer from Kentucky. He was driving north from Florida. Police say they don't know where he was heading.

Brewer is under investigation and has been interviewed by police, though authorities declined to release what he said.

This is the highest fatality crash in Chattanooga during the last 10 years, according to police. Before Thursday, only one person had been killed on the Chattanooga stretch of I-75 during the last five years. 

Jame Gillis, 35, said he was driving ahead of the crash and watched it in his rearview mirror.

"That truck was mowing cars down," he said. "I know that for sure. I saw them get hit."

Gillis pulled over and ran back into the fiery wreck to try to help people. Some men and women were already dead as he ran through, frantically looking for a fire extinguisher and screaming for help.

"It was the most shocking thing I've ever seen in my life," Gillis said. 

Gillis carried one woman, covered in fuel, away from her vehicle to safety. He said she survived.

"I can't get the images out of my head," Gillis said. 

The crash happened at 7:10 p.m. Thursday night, around Exit 11 on I-75 northbound. Chattanooga Police Chief Fred Fletcher called the wreck "one of the worst crashes I've seen."

Tennessee Department of Transportation spokeswoman Jennifer Flynn said workers are in the middle of a resurfacing project, and the work zone stretches from from mile marker 13 to mile marker 19 on I-75 northbound. 

The work happens overnight, she said, from 7 p.m. to 6 a.m.

The crash happened just before the construction zone, as the lanes were tapering down to make room for the work zone, Flynn said. 

She was not sure how many lanes were open at the spot the crash occurred. She added that TDOT had multiple warnings up about the work zone and said that the department followed all federal guidelines on how to set up the lane closures. 

"Ever message board from the 24-split to there was warning about this," she said. "We had a Highway Patrolman there in the taper with flashing lights on."

Police said the family members of all the people killed in the crash have been notified. 

Ocoee Middle School's band director, Brian Gallaher, was one of the six people killed in the crash, according to Bradley County Sheriff's spokesman Ed Ramsey.

The Ocoee Middle School community was just beginning to mourn Friday morning, as news of Gallaher's death spread.

"I was in the Cleveland High Band many years ago and it takes a lot to impress me," said Vicky Vicars. "Brian's middle school program impressed me quite a bit and I am so glad my child could have had him for a band instructor."

Police have also confirmed that 36-year-old Jason Ramos, an employee at Dalton State, was killed in the wreck. 

Ramos worked as the college's assistant director of residential life, spokeswoman Pam Partain said in a release. He'd been working at the North Georgia college for about two years. 

"Jason's incredible work ethic and humor are the two things that I valued the most in working with him," said Natalie Bates, Director of Residential Life. "He brought a lot of fun and humor to our office. and it was incredibly evident that he loved working with students and took pride in his job. This is a great loss to our roadrunner community and he will be sorely missed."

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JUNE 26, 2015

Six people died in a nine-vehicle wreck on Interstate 75 in Tennessee Thursday, police said.

Chattanooga Police Department spokesman Kyle Miller said the accident happened around 7:10 p.m. on I-75 northbound near Ooltewah.

Miller said investigators were working overnight to determine the cause of the crash.

While information is still being obtained, it is confirmed there are multiple fatalities #chanews cause undetermined pic.twitter.com/XZC83Hleds

— Chattanooga Police (@ChattanoogaPD) June 26, 2015

 

Police believe more than 15 people were involved in the accident. However, the exact number is still being determined because multiple groups were taken to local hospitals.

The identities of the victims have not been released.

Northbound lanes of I-75 were shut down after the accident and traffic was redirected. Police expect the lanes to be closed into the early morning hours.

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6 DEAD IN HIGHWAY CRASH NEAR CHATTANOOGA, TENNESSEE

JUN 26, 2015, 12:57 AM ET

By ABC NEWS via Good Morning America

At least six people were killed in a highway accident near Chattanooga, Tennessee, police said. 

The accident happened after 7 p.m. Thursday along I-75 northbound.

The accident involved 15 people in nine vehicles, according to police. There’s no word on what caused the accident. 

A section of the highway was shut down in the hours following the accident.

The victims’ identities have not been released.

Wastewater management company catches fire in south OKC

June 24, 2015
 
OKLAHOMA CITY, OK

 Firefighters have extinguished a fire at a wastewater management company in south Oklahoma City.

The fire was in the 1300 block of SE 25th, right off of I-35.

Traffic is being diverted in the area. The company on fire is January Environmental, authorities said.

There is no word on the cause of the fire at this time.

Boat fire near Dobbins Island, MD

Petty Officer 3rd Class Bradley Weikert fights a boat fire that occurred near Dobbins Island on the Magothy River June 26, 2015. (U.S. Coast Guard photo by Seaman Ashley Rivera)

June 26, 2015

BALTIMORE, MD

The Coast Guard responded Friday after a boat caught fire on the Magothy River near Dobbins Island.

Watchstanders at Coast Guard Sector Baltimore received a report at approximately 10 a.m., stating the owner was aboard a dingy when his boat was caught fire.

A Baltimore City Fire Department crew aboard Fireboat 1 the John R. Frazier, an 85-foot fireboat, was on scene fighting the fire when the Coast Guard crew arrived.

“Upon arrival we located the anchored 26-foot cabin cruiser on fire,” said Firefighter Adam Glassman, with the Baltimore City Fire Department Marine Division. “While we where extinguishing the fire the Coast Guard crew arrived and greatly assisted us with scene security and extinguishment of the vessel. It’s great to have such a positive working relationship with other maritime agencies.”

“We were the second asset on scene with firefighting capabilities,” said Petty Officer 3rd Class Bradley Weikert. “Luckily no one was aboard the boat when it caught fire. The coxswain, Petty Officer 2nd Class Joe Pancotti did a great job of maneuvering around the boat on fire while working in tandem with the fireboat on scene.”

A crew from Maryland Natural Resources Police arrived on scene and took the owner aboard from his dingy.

The 26-foot boat was towed to Atlantic Marina.

No injuries were reported and no pollution was discovered.

Fuel Spill, After Scrapped Former Sea Shepherd Sinks in Nova Scotia

In series of statements posted to Facebook, Captain Paul Watson blamed the incident on the Canadian Coast Guard and Department of Transport for neglecting inspections of the ship, and particularly one government official’s decision to seize the ship in the first place, a decision Watson says has ended up costing the Canadian government a lot of money.
 
June 26, 2015 by Mike Schuler

The new Sea Shepard vessels Farley Mowat and the Jules Verne in Annapolis, Maryland. Photo: Sea Shepherd

The vessel that was once considered the flagship of the controversial marine conservation group Sea Shepherd is now threatening the Nova Scotia coast after the ship sank Wednesday night and is leaking.

Captain Paul Watson next to the RV Farley Mowat

The RV Farley Mowat sank early Wednesday while tied up in Shelburne Harbor, Nova Scotia after springing a leak. According to reports as much as 600 feet of containment boom has been placed around the vessel to prevent the spread of oil. Canada’s CBC also reports that five to six oil drums were on board when the ship sank, and only two have been accounted for.

 
The 1950’s-built RV Farley Mowat was originally purchased by the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society in 1997 and given the name Sea Shepherd III – then Ocean Warrier in 1999. The vessel’s name was later changed to Farley Mowat in 2002 in honor of the late Canadian writer Farley Mowat – The Boat Who Wouldn’t Float

The ship served as the group’s flagship until it was seized by the Canadian Department of Fisheries and Oceans in April 2008 over Fisheries Act violations during the seal hunt off the west coast of Newfoundland. The Sea Shepherd Conservation Society and Captain Paul Watson have always disputed the seizure.

The vessel was later sold by the government to a private over before ending up in the hands of a scrap dealer in 2013. The ship was towed Shelburne in the fall of 2014 and has since been accumulating unpaid docking fees.

In series of statements posted to Facebook, Captain Paul Watson blamed the incident on the Canadian Coast Guard and Department of Transport for neglecting inspections of the ship, and particularly one government official’s decision to seize the ship in the first place, a decision Watson says has ended up costing the Canadian government a lot of money.

Earlier this month, the Sea Shepherd welcomed a new Farley Mowat to its fleet, a 110-foot former USCG Island-class fast patrol vessel purchased by the Society in January 2015.

“There are some who blame Sea Shepherd for the problems the ship has caused and continues to cause but it is not our fault that the Canadian government tried to extort $75,000 to return a ship to us that was not worth $75,000 to us to receive,” Watson wrote on Facebook.

“And now we have a new Farley Mowat to carry on Farley’s great name at sea while the ghost of the old Farley Mowat continues to haunt the port of Shelburne,” he added.

Watson wrote that the ship had over 100 voyages with Sea Shepherd, including 51 as the Farley Mowat.

Here’s some video from the scene from the CBC:

Barge Captain Sentenced to Six Months in Prison for 2005 Deadly Petroleum Barge Explosion

The barge exploded after a crewman, Alexander Oliva, 29, used a propane torch to heat the barge’s cargo pump and ignited oil vapors. The use of an open flame on a loaded petroleum barge violates U.S. Coast Guard regulations and safe industry practice

June 26, 2015 by Reuters

The towing vessel Lisa E was pushing the EMC-423 barge on the Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal on Jan. 19, 2005 when the explosion occurred. The barge is pictured here post explosion. Photo: U.S. Coast Guard

CHICAGO, June 26 (Reuters) – An Illinois man who was captain of a petroleum barge that exploded in a Chicago canal in 2005, killing a crew member, was sentenced to six months in prison on Friday, prosecutors said.

Dennis Egan, 36, of Topeka in central Illinois, and the barge owner, Egan Marine Corp. of Lemont, were each convicted in June 2014 of negligent manslaughter of a seaman and negligently discharging oil into a waterway, according to a statement from prosecutors.

The Chicago suburban company was ordered to pay $5.3 million in restitution to the National Pollution Funds Center for the clean-up.

On January 19, 2005, a barge being pushed by the tow boat “Lisa E” on the Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal was carrying about 600,000 gallons of clarified slurry oil from an ExxonMobil refinery to the Ameropan Oil facility on the city’s south side.

The barge exploded after a crewman, Alexander Oliva, 29, used a propane torch to heat the barge’s cargo pump and ignited oil vapors. The use of an open flame on a loaded petroleum barge violates U.S. Coast Guard regulations and safe industry practice, prosecutors said.

The resulting explosion discharged thousands of gallons of oil into the canal. Oliva’s body was recovered weeks later, prosecutors said.

Total cleanup and other costs from the spill were more than $12 million, prosecutors said.

U.S. District Judge James Zagel concluded that Egan and Egan Marine permitted the use of open flames by crew members, even though it was a safety violation.
“The ultimate tragedy of their crimes is that Alex Oliva would not have lost his life if the defendants valued basic safety higher than expediency,” said U.S. Attorney Zachary Fardon, in a statement.

Negligent manslaughter of a seaman is a fairly unusual charge, and an explosion of this type is “exceedingly rare,” said Assistant U.S. Attorney Timothy Chapman. Explosions were more common in the time of steamships.

A sentencing hearing on restitution for Oliva’s family from Dennis Egan and Egan Marine will be held next week, said Chapman. Prosecutors have said the cost could be up to $1.5 million.

Dennis Egan is considering an appeal, Walters said. (Reporting by Mary Wisniewski; Editing by Lisa Lambert)