Cox Communications Worker Killed in Highway 12 Accident
By: Amanda Ashley
Updated: August 11, 2011
A tanker truck ran into a pickup killing one person east of Rogers on Highway 12. Somehow the tanker fell onto the pickup Thursday morning and crushed it. Cox Communications did confirm the identity of their driver, Lathen Cox, who was killed in the accident.
Accident reconstructionist Gary Thibodeuax says hazmat crews had to be extra careful with the cleanup. "We gotta worry about static electricity we gotta worry about sparking," said Thibodeaux. Thibodeaux says they had to remove all the fuel before they could remove any wreckage.
Thibodeaux is also the safety director for Anderson Gas, the company that owns the tanker. The tanker driver is said to be ok.
He says it will take days to figure out precisely what happened but he believes it started with the tanker truck driver hitting another car. "And then he got in a weaving situation and he weaved on down and there was a Cox cable truck and he hit the truck," said Thibodeaux.
He says this is one of the worst accidents he's seen in his forty plus years of highway safety experience. "Out of a category of 5 this is a category 4," said Thibodeaux. Hazmat crews have to be extremely careful with the cleanup and avoid any little spark because of the gasoline. "A blevy with 2 thousand gallons would heat us up real good right here and that is what we're trying to avoid," said Thibodeaux.
Thibodeuax says next week he will get with an insurance accident reconstructionist to map out the precise details of the accident.
Comments
We lived in Ozark Ridge Estates for years and used Dream Valley Rd to get in and out of the neighborhood. The intersection is extremely dangerous for those turning left onto Dream Valley Rd.
