Posted on 10/15/2007 7:03:09 PM PDT by kellynla
Trucker Ricardo Cibrian was in a jam. He had just collided into the rear end of a semi-truck in front of him and was immediately hit from behind by another vehicle. He could see that the truck he hit had struck another and that they were both on fire.
Cibrian called a friend from his cellphone to report the accident and to say he was trapped in his truck. The friend told him to try to break the window.
As the friend listened, he heard an explosion and the line went dead.
The phone call was described by Espree Campos, a friend who learned about the call from Cibrian's wife.
Today, Cibrian's wife, Victoria Martinez, was headed to Mexico to retrieve dental records that would confirm her husband was one of three people killed in Friday night's fiery accident on the Golden State Freeway in Santa Clarita, said Campos, who was taking care of the family's two children.
"They told us that they found his body," Campos said.
The man Cibrian called that evening notified Cibrian's wife to tell her she needed to get out to the scene. When she did, there was no sign of her husband.
Authorities today did not identify the victims. Three people were killed and 10 were injured, none critically, in the chain-reaction crash just south of the intersection of Interstate 5 and State Route 14, the Antelope Valley Freeway. Two of those killed were a 38-year-old male driver of a big rig and a 6-year-old boy who was his passenger, said Los Angeles County Coroner's Lt. Cheryl MacWillie. Earlier, authorities had said an infant was among the victims.
The cause of the accident remains under investigation, authorities said.
(Excerpt) Read more at latimes.com ...
bump for now, ‘cause I don’t want to say something I shouldn’t.
Man, that’s tragic.
Regards
No one died. Lots of guys got hurt. This was going on in front of him and behind him. You can't avoid it once it starts.
Really feel sorry for the guys in the tunnel.
Didn't know the Amish were getting their dental work done in mexico.
I don't know if it was the case this time, but it used to freak me out to see people driving like a bat out of Hell through the fog in California. The rule was to keep up with traffic, no matter how fast it was going.
[bump for now, ‘cause I don’t want to say something I shouldn’t.]
With that apparent mindset it is best you stay shut.
No one should die that way!
I haven't followed this story but a lot of Americans in the Southwest go to Mexico for dental work.
prudent
That said, one of my sons is a long-hauler. In fact, he was on I-95 yesterday. This gives me chills.
Every time there's an accident involving a big rig, it's 'automatically' the truckers fault.
According to this piece, it sounds like one big-rig rear ended a private vehicle...and that started the tragedy.
Now let me give you a tip that might save your life. (And this is something that should be stressed in all driver's ed classes and well as other means of public awareness.)
A loaded big rig cannot maneuver or stop in the same time as a passenger vehicle. The majority of drivers do not take this into account. And MANY will jump out on the freeway in front of a truck so's they wont be behind it. They don't take into account that the big rig cannot swerve safely in a short span to change lanes or slow the rig down fast enough to avoid a passenger vehicle who doesn't take that into account.
And here's a real heads up for you - IF a trucker does swerve in an attempt to avoid a passenger vehicle that pulls out to close in front of them, and the truck tips, jackknifes, rolls over or causes an accident with another 'innocent' driver, that truck driver will be charged.
If, listen good and remember, a vehicle pulls out too close for the trucker to avoid, the trucker - by law- must maintain his straight course, maintaining control of the truck, even if that means his truck will roll over your vehicle. And if this is the case, the trucker is not charged...the person who caused the accident, dead , most likely, is the driver who is at fault.
Better tuck that away in your head. And teach your family that. It could save your life.
I used to drive those truck lanes every day to work as they were always less congested than the regular freeway lanes. You are driving down a hill, the tunnel is dark and there is a bend to the right that you can’t see around. I always slowed down going into that tunnel as you could never see if someone was stopped around the bend. It was pouring rain on Friday night so I’m sure it was really slick. It is very lucky that more people were not killed. Prayers for those who perished and for their families.
I used to drive those truck lanes every day to work as they were always less congested than the regular freeway lanes. You are driving down a hill, the tunnel is dark and there is a bend to the right that you can’t see around. I always slowed down going into that tunnel as you could never see if someone was stopped around the bend. It was pouring rain on Friday night so I’m sure it was really slick. It is very lucky that more people were not killed. Prayers for those who perished and for their families.
this is a tragedy - your remark is inappropriate
this is a tragedy - your remark is inappropriate
Yes, for some stupid reason, on another thread, the wherefromabouts of the people were thought to have something to do with this.
I guess these are folks that wish they could be truck drivers, but are mad as heck that some illegal, or foreigner got that high paying glamour job...
For all the agonizing over the deaths of police officers and firefighters in the line of duty, the reality is that truck drivers have one of the most dangerous jobs in the U.S. today.
How suspect is this? He's involved in a collision, and instead of calling 911, he calls a friend?
Almost all truckers are good, courteous drivers, who no doubt must have nerves of steel, putting up with a whole bunch of very bad car drivers. That said, there are some truck drivers that do not have the temper to drive professionally. These folks are extremely dangerous, as a collission with a semi is very likely fatal. The DOT of each state, should do more to remove some of these deadly truck drivers from the road.
Wow, did not know any of that. Thank you so much for that information. I hope everyone prints it out like I am doing right now.
Amen.
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