This Will Spoil Your Whole Day...

[RJOL]

Just saw a news item for the Seattle area. This is the type of accident that those of us who tow 5th wheels don't ever want to see:



http://www.komotv.com/stories/37120.htm



Unfortunately there were fatalities when the truck, towing the 5th wheel, crossed the median and hit several cars. One thing it shows it that the trailer stayed attached when he lost control...

 

[willysrule]

wow, what a shame... wonder what happended?

 

[Mad Bomber]

I just that on King 5 NOT GOOD.

 

[MMeier]

Terrible ending to what was probably a great weekend till that point for all involved.

 

[GerryDrake]

Just saw it on the local news. Looks like one of the larger 5'ers (triple axle) but I couldn't get a good look to see what type of truck was towing. Video is available at king5.com

 

[kbond]

Looks like a f250 quadcab. What a tragedy for all those people.

 

[Mad Bomber]

The people in the truck and trailer were fine it was just the people they hit

 

[Bob Wagner]

watching the pictures from the local news, that was a lot of trailer for that tow rig. Triple axle should be a dually at minimum



not to mention the weight. It was a Ford

 

[tURBOdIEZEl]

wow..... thats somethng awful.

 

[bmoeller]

watching the pictures from the local news, that was a lot of trailer for that tow rig. Triple axle should be a dually at minimum



not to mention the weight. It was a Ford

Bob, I completely agree. I've talked to my uncle about the same thing. He pulls a 35 or 37' 5er w/ a SRW, reg. cab, 6. 0L PSD, '04 F-350. Runs 70-75mph with it. :--) There is NO freakin' way I would do that, even with a dually. Sure it has more than enough power for it, but DANG!



Hope he doesn't get into a situation like that.

 

[gathomas]

Sometimes drivers fall asleep at the wheel, don't know if that was the case here, but I think he crossed over into oncoming traffic... . anyway you look at it. . was terrible for the folkes involved. "97" 3500 C/C CTD auto #5 plate BD transmission gauges

 

[AMink]

That's sobering. It says it was a 30' trailer. I don't think I've seen a triple axle 30' before. Maybe a toy hauler? I was just looking at trailers today. Those dealers sometimes puff your truck. I always tell them that, yes, my truck will pull it, but will it be legal? You may go thousands of miles OK, but if you're in an accident and overweight, you may have problems. Prayers to all involved.

 

[Todd T]

I guess it's a bit morbid, but at least that young child died with his parents and doesnt have to grow up without them. I'm not sure which is worse?



Not to highjack, but talk about sobering and ruining your weekend. My wife and i found a man dead this weekend at the campground we stayed at. he apparently had a heart attack. when i found him he was purple and laying in a pile beside his steps. when we first noticed him it looked like he was working on the underside of the trailer. My wife pointed him out to me and i looked closer and could see his glasses were all contorted on his head. I approached him and rolled him over and started CPR until help arrived but we later heard from his family that he passed on route. i cant quit thinking how i could have possibly done more.

 

[JThiessen]

That trailer was a triple axle Sea Breeze. Very heavy trailer - I was just talking fellow rammer at Lake Perrigin this weekend that had a 32 foot Sea Breeze - double axle - that weighed in at 14K. So odds are that it weighed significantly more than that. It wasnt a toy hauler (I'm home sick today - so I have lots of time to sit and watch the news). I also couldnt tell from anything if that was a F250 or F350, but the only obvious thing is that it was a short box SRW. From the skid marks, it looked like he was in the far left lane, or at least the center lane.

I'm thinking he was waaaay over capacity with his TV. If he hadn't been overloaded, it may have at least saved the lives of those three.

BTW, King 5 and Kiro 7 are both saying he got cut off and they are looking for the car that did it. Komo 4 isnt saying anything.



When we were driving by this yesterday, my wife was freaking out about how they may hve been cut off (like we so often are), and how he/she could have gotten so out of control. I hope that if I'm ever in that situation I'll remember to aim for the guy cutting me off instead of swerving. I do that with deer, and its kept me on the road and in one piece so far.

 

[KYLE4]

God bless the Husband and wife and that poor Kid who was cheated out of his life storys like that hit hard for me I have a 5 year old and a 15 month old son.

 

[SnoKing]

Looks like a LWB super cab to me, not a SWB. Well on edit, maybe it is a SWB.



Slide show available here http://www.kirotv.com/traffic/4549114/detail.html



In slide one, if compare the lenght of the bed to the width of the trailer, it appears to be a long box.



SNOKING

 

[RJOL]

... I also couldnt tell from anything if that was a F250 or F350, but the only obvious thing is that it was a short box SRW.

Washington State Patrol is saying that it was an F350 driven by a 61 year old man from the Olympia area...

 

[SnoKing]

Slide one

Another picture. Snoking

 

[Gary - K7GLD]

I guess it's pointless to again start the "overloading wars" - guys that disregard reason and logic will continue to do so no matter how horrible the pictures and consequences you display...



BUT, *ONE THING* all us towers MUST keep constantly on top of, is DEFENSIVE driving, especially in crowded high speed traffic. I suspect relatively few have ever had to make a frantic emergency stop, especially if a swerve is part of the equation - and the heavier you are, the more difficult to do without damage to sheetmetal or shorts...



Keep safe out there guys!

 

[RJOL]

Don't know if he was overloaded, or what caused the accident. Some reports say he was cut off by another car... Regardless... Most of us, that have been towing for awhile, have been cut off by another vehicle, or had one pull in front then jam on the brakes to make a turnoff, or miss the car in front of them. The natural reaction is to swerve to miss them, but it may be worse then just getting on the brake, and slowly moving over to try and miss him. If you rip the steering wheel over to try and miss them, your trailer is not going to like it...