Truck crash in Zanesville, Ohio.

[Tobin S.]

I was on I-70 last night coming back from Pittsburgh, PA doing my trucking gig when I ran up on stopped traffic in Zanesville, OH. A car and a tractor-trailer got together in a fatal crash there. The driver from the semi was killed.

I sat there on the highway for over two hours because they have to shut the road down when a fatal accident occurs. The accident was also blocking the interstate. I was about a half mile behind it on a curve, so I could see all the emergency vehicles with their lights going. About a half hour after I got stopped, another accident occurred about a half mile behind me that involved 9 vehicles. A semi rolled up on the stopped traffic and ran into the end of the line going pretty fast. Amazingly, no one was killed in that one, but I think the highway was closed for about 6 hours to clean it up.

The semi driver that got killed had a co-driver in the truck with him. He survived unharmed. I don't know how. Same goes for the car involved with that accident. Usually when a car and a big truck get together at high speed, any fatalities are in the car.

They eventually got the road cleared enough to route us off the highway through town. As I passed the accident scene, I could see the damage. The entire cab and hood of the truck were torn off and laying on the highway. The chassis and the trailer of the truck were still upright. I don't know how that happened. I'm thinking the trucker might have collided hard with a retaining wall.

Freezing rain was the culprit. My guess is that the semi driver was also inexperienced.

Truck driving is one of the most dangerous ways to make a living in our country. I don't know if it still does, but it used to rank higher than police work and fire-fighting and is usually in the top ten most dangerous jobs in America. Here is a link to a story about the accident.

https://ycitynews.com/5750/news/driver-in-fatal-accident-on-i-70-identified/

[Achilleaze]

1. .

[CincyDem]

2. #7 on the top list in 2017...police & firemen not in this Top 10.

http://time.com/5074471/most-dangerous-jobs/

[Tobin S.]

4. Thank you. I appreciate that.

[CincyDem]

7. As a follow up, 24/7 Wall Street site also puts truckers @ 7 with Police @ 17. n/t

[CaliforniaPeggy]

3. Wow, my dear Tobin.........how horrible to be near such an accident.

My heart goes out to the victim and his loved ones.........Those are tough losses.

I am glad, however, that you're OK.

[Tobin S.]

5. Thanks, Peggy.

[hibbing]

6. That's scary

I'm sure you have seen a lot of accident sites in your years driving. A car wreck always seems like such a horrible way to go.




Peace

[handmade34]

8. take care out there

my dad was a truck driver and years ago was side swiped by another semi... my dad went through the windshield and was not the same after a long stay in the hospital with tracheostomy...

be safe

[DFW]

9. Here in Germany, truck drivers are in constant danger

First off, demanding employers accept unrealistic contracts and pressure drivers to ignore rules about resting, and drive through from, say, Romania to Holland in such a short time that the can't possibly make it and still get sleep. They are so tired that they fall asleep at the wheel. Plus, once they get off the highway (Autobahn here), they find themselves on tiny streets and can't see cars next to them. My wife was nearly killed a few years ago when a truck in the left lane tried to turn right and crushed her car before the driver realized one was there. She was stationary, even though the light had turned green, because she could see the street when the truck suddenly started turning right and cut off her vision. I don't know how she crawled out of that wreck and neither does she. Two cops who came to the scene wanted to charge HER with reckless driving (so much for women's solidarity--both cops were women) until a few eyewitnesses started to threaten to report the cops if they didn't say what really happened.

The scariest to me is the hoards of truck drivers from Turkey, Romania and Bulgaria. These guys get paid crap, are given basket case rigs, and are expected to make runs in less time than it would take a Ferrari. They fall asleep at the wheel, or their rigs fall apart under them, and then it's THEIR fault when something horrible happens. I don't understand how they hold up under the constant pressure and danger.

[irisblue]

10. I remember that bridge

it froze easily. I worked at that hospital & it provided alot of business for the ER.
Stay safe.