» NTSB: Passing in no-pass zone cause of Teutopolis crash

(WAND) – The National Transportation Safety Board has issued its preliminary report of the safety investigation of the deadly HAZMAT crash in Teutopolis from last month, revealing that passing in a no-pass zone was the cause of the crash.

On Friday, September 29, at about 8:41 p.m., a 2005 International 9900ix truck-tractor in combination with a 1978 Mississippi Tank Company MC331 cargo tank semitrailer, was traveling west on U.S. Highway 40, a two-lane road near Teutopolis in Effingham County.

The combination vehicle was owned and operated by Prairieland Transport, LTD., of Brownstown, Illinois, and the cargo tank was loaded with approximately 7,500 gallons of UN1005, anhydrous ammonia, which is a Hazard Class 2.2 material and an inhalation hazard.

At the same time, an oncoming eastbound vehicle was approaching the westbound combination vehicle, and a westbound passenger vehicle was passing the combination vehicle in a no-passing zone.

NTSB reports the driver of the combination vehicle said that to prevent a collision between the westbound passenger vehicle and the oncoming eastbound vehicle, he steered to the right.

The combination vehicle left the road and traveled into a shallow roadside drainage ditch.

The truck-tractor struck the end of a 12-inch-diameter corrugated metal pipe culvert installed beneath a field entrance, and the combination vehicle jackknifed and rolled onto its right side with its cargo tank sliding forward.

The exposed front end of the cargo tank struck the tow ring of a utility trailer that had been parked adjacent to the roadway on private property. The tow ring punctured the front of the cargo tank, which led to the release of anhydrous ammonia into the atmosphere as a toxic gas in the form of a white cloud.

The driver of the combination vehicle was injured as a result of the crash and exposure to the anhydrous ammonia gas.

Five people in the area of the crash died and 11 others sustained injuries ranging from minor to severe due to their exposure to anhydrous ammonia.

At this location, US-40 was a non-divided, two-lane asphalt roadway consisting of one 12-foot-wide travel lane in each direction of travel flanked by 1-foot-wide asphalt-paved and 2-foot-wide crushed-aggregate shoulders.

Adjacent to the north shoulder was a shallow drainage ditch.

The posted speed limit on US-40 was 55 mph.

Parties to the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) investigation are:

Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration
Pipeline and Hazardous Material Safety Administration
Illinois State Police
Illinois Department of Transportation
Teutopolis Fire Protection District
Mississippi Tank Company

All aspects of the crash remain under investigation while the NTSB determines the probable cause, with the intent of issuing safety recommendations to prevent similar events.