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PA Tractor Trailer Crash
JOHNSTOWN, Pa. (AP) - An overweight tractor-trailer barreled
down a steep hill and hit 18 parked cars and a building before it
broke apart Tuesday, killing the driver, authorities said.
The truck, which was four times heavier than the road's 5½-ton
weight limit, could have been going as fast as 100 mph when it
descended Frankstown Road, witnesses said.
Paul King, of North Baltimore, Ohio, died two hours after the
noon accident. No one else was seriously injured.
The truck was carrying liquid argon, which exploded in a white
cloud, but Fire Chief Mike Huss said the inert gas posed no threat.
Authorities were examining whether the rig's brakes failed and
whether King may have been trying to circumvent truck safety checks
being conducted on the nearby Route 56 Bypass.
Johnstown Police Capt. Andy Frear said finding a cause could be
difficult because of the damage.
Records obtained by The Tribune-Democrat of Johnstown show King
was cited four times in a month by truck owner Cryogenic
Transportation Inc., of Baytown, Texas, for driving too many hours
and not keeping proper logs.
The company declined comment.
(Copyright 2003 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
down a steep hill and hit 18 parked cars and a building before it
broke apart Tuesday, killing the driver, authorities said.
The truck, which was four times heavier than the road's 5½-ton
weight limit, could have been going as fast as 100 mph when it
descended Frankstown Road, witnesses said.
Paul King, of North Baltimore, Ohio, died two hours after the
noon accident. No one else was seriously injured.
The truck was carrying liquid argon, which exploded in a white
cloud, but Fire Chief Mike Huss said the inert gas posed no threat.
Authorities were examining whether the rig's brakes failed and
whether King may have been trying to circumvent truck safety checks
being conducted on the nearby Route 56 Bypass.
Johnstown Police Capt. Andy Frear said finding a cause could be
difficult because of the damage.
Records obtained by The Tribune-Democrat of Johnstown show King
was cited four times in a month by truck owner Cryogenic
Transportation Inc., of Baytown, Texas, for driving too many hours
and not keeping proper logs.
The company declined comment.
(Copyright 2003 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)