CEMENT TRUCK DRIVER, DISPATCHER CHARGED WITH VEHICULAR AND RECKLESS HOMICIDE IN DEADLY CRASH. THEY ALLEGEDLY KNEW THAT THE TRUCK BRAKES WERE FAULTY WHILE IN OPERATION

 

CEMENT TRUCK DRIVER, DISPATCHER CHARGED WITH VEHICULAR AND RECKLESS HOMICIDE IN DEADLY CRASH.  THEY ALLEGEDLY KNEW THAT THE TRUCK BRAKES WERE FAULTY WHILE IN OPERATION

February 10, 2015

NASHVILLE, TN (WSMV) - 

Two employees of a cement truck company at the center of a Channel 4 I-Team investigation have been indicted on criminal charges.

The I-Team reported earlier this month that the co-founder of Nashville Ready Mix gave a deposition in a civil lawsuit, saying that employees of his own company had known for weeks that the brake system on a truck was faulty.

Two of the employees, driver Robert Ashabrunner and the dispatcher Carlton Mosely, were charged with vehicular and reckless homicide.

Police said Ashabrunner was the driver of the cement truck that hit and killed Sergio Lopez, a father of two. Mosely, who wasn't anywhere near the accident, is also charged.

The indictment reads both men killed Lopez by allowing the operation of a commercial motor vehicle without properly functioning equipment.

"If they'd gotten the brakes fixed, we wouldn't be here today," said Don Meadows, co-founder of Nashville Ready Mix.

In the recorded deposition, Meadows said, "The driver of the truck knew the airbag was busted."

Meadows also said that Mosely knew that the airbags, which control the braking system on the truck, were ruptured and sent the truck out anyway.

"They've known it for three weeks," Meadows said.

Ashabrunner's attorney told the I-Team by phone on Tuesday that Lopez had broken down in the middle of the road in the dark. The attorney said it would have been difficult for any truck, even with perfect brakes, to avoid the crash.

However, Meadows swore under oath that he believed Nashville Ready Mix was responsible for the crash.

"That's the reason I want the truth told," he said.

The I-Team reached out to Mosely's attorney, but has not heard from him yet.

Meadows said in his deposition that other staff members knew of the faulty brake system, but no one else has been indicted.

MASSIVE FIRE BATTLED AT HISTORIC BUFORD, GEORGIA WAREHOUSE. THE CURRENT TENANT WAS IN THE PROCESS OF MOVING OUT.

 

MASSIVE FIRE BATTLED AT HISTORIC BUFORD, GEORGIA WAREHOUSE.  THE CURRENT TENANT WAS IN THE PROCESS OF MOVING OUT.

February 10, 2015

BUFORD, GEORGIA:

Crews battled a massive fire at a historic warehouse in downtown Buford on Tuesday.

Gwinnett County firefighters were called to the scene on East Moreno just before 7 p.m. Half of the building was already on fire and flames were shooting through the roof and out the windows.

The 100-year-old building was known as the old Buford Tannery, and was the site of another major blaze back in the 1980s, according to Captain Tommy Rutledge of the Gwinnett County Department of Fire and Emergency Services.

The tannery was partly occupied by American Plumbing and Contracting.  A company representative said they just gone out of business, the owners had retired and they were in the process of moving out.

Firefighters believe no one was inside the building when the blaze broke out.

The cause of the fire is under investigation.

ANOTHER DISASTER AVERTED: TANKER CARRYING LIQUID NITROGEN OVERTURNS, HIGHWAY 99 SHELDON ROAD OFF-RAMP BLOCKED. THE LIQUID NITROGEN EVENTUALLY WAS VENTED INTO THE ATMOSPHERE

 

ANOTHER DISASTER AVERTED: TANKER CARRYING LIQUID NITROGEN OVERTURNS, HIGHWAY 99 SHELDON ROAD OFF-RAMP BLOCKED.  THE LIQUID NITROGEN EVENTUALLY WAS VENTED INTO THE ATMOSPHERE

February 10, 2015

ELK GROVE (CBS13) – Crews are working to right a tanker that rolled over at the Highway 99 off-ramp from Sheldon Road Tuesday afternoon.

Authorities say that the big rig is carrying liquid nitrogen, necessitating a level 2 Hazmat response.

The southbound Highway 99 off-ramp to Sheldon Road has been closed as a consequence of the crash, Caltrans says. Crews expect to have the roadway reopened by 3:30 p.m.

HAZMAT specialists with the Cosumnes Fire Department vented liquid nitrogen from an overturned tanker truck in Elk Grove on Tuesday, Feb. 10, 2015. The nitrogen created a water vapor when the cold contacted the moisture in the air. Officials said the vapor is non-toxic, non-flammable and posed no danger to the public.

This rollover is a good example of  how easy it is for these liquid-carrying tanker trucks to rollover as they make a turn, coming off a ramp, changing course, etc.  If the speed is too high for the load, then the truck will rollover and the driver can do nothing about it.  In fact, all the times, the driver is trying to over-correct the sloshing effect of the liquid and ends up overturning the truck even faster.

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An overturned tanker truck loaded with liquid nitrogen forced the closure of Sheldon Road at Highway 99 in Elk Grove Tuesday afternoon.

The driver wasn't injured in the incident which also closed the Sheldon southbound to Highway 99 exit.

Sacramento Fire Department spokesperson Robert Padilla said Sacramento Fire, Consumnes fire and HAZMAT crews responded.

Consumnes Fire tweeted HAZMAT that it determined it would be safe to vent the liquid nitrogen into the atmosphere in order to right the tanker. When the liquid nitrogen hits air, it forms a water vapor cloud. The vapor is non-toxic and non-flammable but may cause suffocation by displacing the oxygen in air.  

When spilled the liquid will vaporize rapidly forming an oxygen-deficient vapor cloud. Evacuate this vapor cloud area.

The venting process was expected to take a couple of hours, Cosumnes Deputy Fire Chief Mike McLaughlin said.

Southbound Highway 99 and Sheldon Road at West Stockton Boulevard were expected to be closed until the liquid nitrogen dissipated and the tanker was removed.

Expect traffic delays for at least a few hours, authorities said.

The tanker overturned at 12:45 p.m.

DRIVING A BIG RIG IS THE EQUIVALENT OF HOLDING A LETHAL WEAPON. YOU CANNOT TEXT, SPEED, TALK, EAT, DRINK, OVERCORRECT, FALL ASLEEP, BE TIRED, ETC WHILE YOU ARE DRIVING IT; OTHERWISE, DISASTER WILL STRIKE: Driver chokes on popcorn, big rig crashes into neighborhood.

 

DRIVING A BIG RIG IS THE EQUIVALENT OF HOLDING A LETHAL WEAPON.  YOU CANNOT TEXT, SPEED, TALK, EAT, DRINK, OVERCORRECT, FALL ASLEEP, BE TIRED, ETC WHILE YOU ARE DRIVING IT; OTHERWISE, DISASTER WILL STRIKE: Driver chokes on popcorn, big rig crashes into neighborhood.

February 5, 2015

 

REDDING, CALIFORNIA:

A tanker truck hauling apple juice ran off Interstate 5, through a fence, and crashed into a tree in a nearby neighborhood Friday after the driver choked on popcorn.  This is not as outrageous as the other incident we heard the other day about a truck driver who allegedly pulled his own tooth while driving and ending up also crashing his rig.  Where do they find these people?

According to the California Highway Patrol the tanker nearly avoided crashing into a home on Helen Street near Bechelli Lane.

The vehicle was stopped by a tree, only 10 feet from a bedroom occupied by two children.

A CHP officer on the scene said, the truck would have gone into the home if it weren't for the tree.

According to officers, the driver of the truck ran off the road after he blacked out from choking on a piece of popcorn. The driver was up and walking around after the crash but he was eventually taken to the hospital with minor injuries.

Emergency crews originally reported the tanker truck was transporting fuel but that was not the case. The tanker truck was carrying apple juice.