MATT HELMS Detroit Free Press;Crews at the collapsed 9 Mile overpass above I-75 were inspecting the
damage this morning from a massive tanker explosion and fire that has shut down the freeway indefinitely.
Posted on 07/17/2009 4:38:46 AM PDT by restornu
Bridge demolition begins; freeway shut indefinitely
Smoke still billowed from the twisted wreckage beneath the collapsed Nine Mile Road bridge on Thursday as police investigated the spectacular, fiery crash that has closed I-75 indefinitely.
The driver of the gas tanker that exploded has been identified as Michael St. John, 44, of Armada. The driver of the car believed to have caused the accident may face charges and his insurance company could be asked to foot road repair bills, officials said.
On the service drive Thursday, demolition crews set out Dumpsters to haul away metal,
concrete and the charred remains of a tanker truck, produce sem-truck and passenger car that crashed about 8:10 p.m. Wednesday.
State police reported the explosive accident happened after the driver of a car on northbound I-75 lost control of his vehicle, drifted across two lanes of traffic and struck the tanker.
The driver of the car, Saied Haidarian-Shahri, 27, of Clawson, may face charges when state police submit their investigation for review to Oakland County prosecutors next week, said Michigan State Police Lt. Shannon Sims.
"He is the one who lost control of his vehicle and caused the accident," Sims said of the car's driver.
State police said the cab of the fuel tanker separated from the fuel tank after it was struck and jackknifed.
"The cab detached and hit the center median and the fuel tanker hit the roadway and exploded," Sims said.
Police said the driver of a Meijer semi-truck on northbound I-75 saw the accident and came to a complete stop beneath the Nine Mile Road bridge and abandoned his vehicle.
The drivers of the tanker and Meijer truck were transported to the hospital with minor injuries and released, Sims said.
The Meijer truck was driven by Jody Cicero, 38, of Monroe.
Hazel Park police said they found Haidarian-Shahri as he was leaving the scene on foot and brought him to their station where he was questioned by state police.
He has had his driver's license for only a couple of months, according to the Michigan Secretary of State's office.
All three drivers were interviewed and their statements will be compared with results of the accident reconstruction. More details about the cause of the fiery crash could be released Monday, Sims said.
Miracle nobody killed
On Thursday morning, the blackened tanker was flipped on its side north of the fallen bridge, which flattened almost all of the Meijer produce truck. A couple feet of the truck was left intact over strewn lettuce and fruit a few yards from the burned passenger car facing toward the southeast.
As he surveyed the damage, Fire Chief Ray DeWalt still couldn't believe no one was seriously hurt when the tanker filled with more than 9,000 gallons of gasoline and 4,000 gallons of diesel fuel rolled over and caught fire.
"It's amazing no one suffered more than minor injuries," DeWalt said. "It may have just been a matter of timing. If this happened three hours earlier during rush hour who knows what would have happened."
Firefighters from Ferndale, Madison Heights and Royal Oak were the first to the scene Wednesday night and doused the blaze with water and foam until about 2:30 a.m. Thursday. Agencies from as far west as Bloomfield delivered five-gallon jugs of foam to keep the suppression effort going.
DeWalt said the mutual aid plan was implemented without a hitch.
"The outcome was as best as I could expect," he said.
Hazel Park City Manager Ed Klobucher credited first responders from Hazel Park and the region for helping with the city's second major incident.
"I'm extremely proud of my city employees," Klobucher said. "We started the day with a house explosion (one person severely burned) and ended it with a catastrophic fire that collapsed a bridge. It was an incredible inferno and I'm thankful we had all hands on deck. It's a miracle there weren't any fatalities."
Flames shot into the air almost as high as the nine-story Days Inn next to the freeway, Klobucher said. The black plume of smoke could be seen for miles.
Gary Reid of Hazel Park got a close look. He was buying a soft drink from the Exxon gas station when he heard what he thought was a crash involving five to 10 vehicles.
"I saw fire shoot up instantly from under the bridge," Reid said. "You could feel the heat."
He ran over and said he saw the tanker rolled sideways.
"The car exploded when I was over there," Reid said. "It was really loud."
He figured the eastern half of the bridge collapsed about an hour later.
"There was a big thump and it felt like a minor earthquake," Reid said.
Hazel Park Fire Lt. Bill Anderson said the hours long fire from the tanker explosion was the biggest he has seen in his 25 years as a firefighter.
"The bridge was still up when I got there," he said. "And then it just went down, boom, from all that heat."
He estimated the massive fire burned at temperatures of up to 2,400 degrees Fahrenheit, twice the temperature at which steel fails and twists.
The 13,000 gallons of fuel feeding the fire sent black oily smoke 200 feet into the air, where it blew with a northeast wind, Anderson said.
"In a way it was spectacular looking," he said.
Bridge may be rebuilt by Thanksgiving
Just a year after the Nine Mile Road overpass connecting east and west Hazel Park was rebuilt, a crane and other equipment returned Thursday to demolish it.
Although half of the five-lane bridge still stood over the southbound lanes, the entire structure is being razed as part of an $84,000 bid awarded Thursday morning to Posen Construction Co., according to Rob Morosi, spokesman for the Michigan Department of Transportation.
"The heat from the fire compromised the strength of the steel beams," Morosi said of the decision to tear down the remaining part of the bridge.
The overpass will be rebuilt for $1-2 million, possibly by Thanksgiving, he said.
Klobucher said residents waited at least seven years for the deteriorating bridge to be renovated in 2008. They kept up a steady stream of complaints to the state about being able to look down holes to the freeway below.
"It was the poster child for bad bridges," Klobucher said. "We fought to have it fixed and now it's in the middle of I-75."
If a driver is determined to be the cause of the bridge's collapse, the state can seek reimbursement from the insurer.
"When we obtain the police report we'll turn it over to the attorney general and they will represent the department to recoup the financial loss," Morosi said.
Machines that break concrete were being used at the accident scene Thursday afternoon. By the end of the weekend, debris should be removed and the road should be cleaned up, Morosi said.
"Then we can determine the fix on the pavement," he said. "It's too early to say when we can reopen the freeway, but we are working diligently on that for the public."
About 160,000 motorists a day used that stretch of I-75. They are being detoured around closures at Eight Mile Road and I-696 indefinitely.
"The X factor will be the condition of the pavement," said Morosi, adding the aftermath of the crash could be worse. "We can replace an overpass and a road, but not a life. When there aren't any fatalities, it's a very fortunate accident."
Scene on Interstate 75 north of Detroit on Thursday, July 16, 2009 in Hazel Park, Mich., where a fuel tanker exploded and an overpass collapsed Wednesday night. Part of the highway remained closed Thursday morning with debris still smoldering a day after the accident left three drivers with minor injuries. The fire was so intense because the tanker had about 13,000 gallons of fuel. (AP Photo/Carlos Osorio)
MORE PHOTOS
Gasoline tanker explodes on Mich. highway
Saied Haidarian-Shahri, 27, of Clawson Saied Haidarian-Shahri, 27, of Clawson, who’d just received his license in May, apparently lost control of his car while driving about 70 m.p.h. in the 9 Mile curve on I-75, which has a suggested safe speed of 50 m.p.h., police said. He swerved into the tanker truck, driven by Michael St. John, 44, of Armada. Haidarian-Shahri was driving a 2004 Honda Civic.
(Photo from student page on the Wayne State U.)
READ FULL DET FREE PRESS STORY
Man who police say caused fiery crash: No apology
Associated Press - July 17, 2009 7:04 AM ET
CLAWSON, Mich. (AP) - A man who police say lost control of his car along a Detroit area highway and caused a tanker carrying 13,000 gallons of fuel to crash and explode has offered no apology.
Twenty-7-year-old Saied Haidarian-Shari of Clawson was 1 of 3 drivers who escaped Wednesday night’s fiery explosion along Interstate 75 with minor injuries.
When asked Thursday night by WJBK-TV whether he felt he should apologize for the crash that also included a tractor-trailer, Haidarian-Shari said: “No.”
He says, “I don’t think I made a mistake,” adding that he’s given a statement to police.
Crews are removing debris from a collapsed section of bridge over the northbound expressway. The National Transportation Safety Board also is investigating.
No one has been cited.
Saied Haidarian-Shahri - DUMBASS
Leaving the scene.
Some piece of work. Be interesting to learn if he actually has auto insurance.
He is a student from Iran
I don’t care where he’s from he’s an idiot in any language.
Driving 70 in a 50 when you’ve only had a license for a couple of months. Yeah, that’s not a “mistake.”
Well, after hearing the initial reports of the fire, I’m glad to hear there were no fatalities or even serious injuries.
The road closures are going to make traffic in Detroit fun for a while, I’m sure, but then again, from what I understand, it’s not like anyone up there has a job to be going to anyway.
But burning fuel can’t melt steel and cause concrete to come crashing down!!
Sudden Jihad Syndrome?
you are wrong.....
Clearly this is Bush's fault.
How many oil tankers, gasoline tankers, chemical tankers in the road at any one time?
If a driver is determined to be the cause of the bridge's collapse, the state can seek reimbursement from the insurer.
How convenient.
Having seen firsthand the skill level of the average Arab driver I doubt it. They never look where they’re going.
Wrong? How can you dispute the word of that great Structural Engineer, Rosie O’Donuts?
That isn’t a car in the picture. It’s a remotely piloted CIA drone disguised as a car. Pelosi wasn’t briefed on this operation either. Cheney you magnificient bastard!
In Michigan, you must show proof of insurance to obtain plates for your car.
If the state thinks this guy has enough insurance to cover this, they are nuts.
That is what I was wondering too.
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