Ohio girl admits to cutting off tanker that spilled chemical last year in Illinois, killing 5: Totally my bad
A federal report on a tanker-truck crash a year ago in central Illinois that spilled a toxic chemical and killed five people includes an interview with a 17-year-old Ohio girl who concedes that the truck was forced off the road when she passed it with the minivan she was driving.The tanker slowed and pulled to the right to allow the minivan to get back in the right-hand lane and avoid a head-on collision with oncoming traffic on the two-lane US 40 in Teutopolis on Sept.29, 2023, according to dash-cam video from the truck also released late Wednesday by the National Transportation Safety Board.“Oh, (expletive).
Yeah.Oh, my goodness.
Yep, totally my bad.Wow.
Holy (expletive),” the girl said while watching the video from the ill-fated truck during an Oct.4, 2023, Illinois State Police interview.The tanker truck was carrying caustic anhydrous ammonia when it jack-knifed and hit a utility trailer parked just off the highway.The trailer’s hitch punctured the tank, spilling about half of the 7,500-gallon load about 8:40 p.m.
just west of Teutopolis, a community about 110 miles northeast of St.Louis.Five people died as a result, including three family members who were near the road when the incident occurred.About 500 people were evacuated for hours after the accident to spare them exposure to the hazardous plume from the chemical used by farmers to add nitrogen fertilizer to the soil and in large buildings as a refrigerant.The transportation board said its latest findings are merely a factual account and do not include analysis or conclusions, which are expected later.The Illinois State Police conducted its own investigation, and spokeswoman Melaney Arnold said the department turned over its findings last month to Effingham County State’s Attorney Aaron Jones.A message seeking comment from Jones was left at his office Thursday.The girl, whose name is redacted in the transcript of the state police interview because she was a minor at the time, said she was ...