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Published on Thursday, February 5, 2004
in the Sarasota Herald Tribune
The driver of the fuel tanker that crashed into a guardrail of Big Slough Canal Bridge on Interstate 75 Monday, killing the St. Petersburg man and closing down a nine-mile stretch of the region's principal thoroughfare, was traveling in the wrong lane at an excessive speed, according to a report released Wednesday by the Florida Highway Patrol.
FHP Sgt. Doug Dodson said construction on the bridge at the time of the crash also played a role.
A construction barrier narrows the bridge -- normally two 12-foot-wide lanes and a 5-foot emergency lane -- into an 11-foot right lane and a 12-foot left lane. Because the right lane has a slight slope, a sign has directed truck drivers to the left.
"They want the truck traffic to be in the left lane where it is flat so they don't have the opportunity to run off the road into the rail," Dodson said. Richard Curtis Austin, 36, was traveling in the right lane at about 10 miles over the posted speed limit of 60 mph, Dodson said.
The two factors, he said, caused Austin to lose control of his vehicle.
Another driver who travels that stretch of road daily said the construction at Big Slough Canal Bridge makes it a difficult area to navigate.
"I can see how he crashed and burned there," said North Port resident John Yacobelli, 42, who sells trucks for The Truck Junction in Sarasota. "You're real close to both barriers, especially if you're on the right-hand side."
In an e-mail, trucker Jim Celli, who drives an 18-wheeler from south Georgia to Naples three times a week, called the stretch of I-75 "one of the most dangerous sections of roadway I have ever driven on."
"Florida is famous for having uneven sections of pavement in construction zones that will cause my rig to steer itself, trying to throw me into a barrier wall, guard rail or off the road," he wrote.
Further investigation needed
FHP Sgt. Conner Cardwell said that while the crash investigation is over, the investigation of Austin's death will probably take at least another 60 days.
That investigation will overlap with a state Department of Transportation Motor Carrier Compliance Division inquiry into the crash, reviewing the condition of the driver and the tanker before the crash, he said.
DOT Lt. Kenny Morris of the Motor Vehicle Compliance Division said his agency's investigation will determine how long Austin had been driving to see if fatigue could have played a role.
It will also inspect the truck to see if all federal safety standards were met.
Any serious safety violation could result in an investigation of Florida Rock & Tank Lines, Morris said.
The company has not been cited for any acute or critical violations in the past 18 months, according to data from the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration.
But Florida Rock & Tank -- which was involved in a fatal crash on Salt Creek Bridge near Venice in 1996 -- has had four fatal accidents in the past 30 months, FMCSA data show.
The trucking company is owned by Patriot Transportation Holding Inc. of Jacksonville, which also owns Sunbelt Transport Inc.
The two companies have had 48 accidents involving nonfatal injuries in the past 30 months, FMCSA data show.
According to the data, about 88 percent of motor carriers nationwide had a "better safety performance than (Florida Rock & Tank Lines) with respect to crashes."
Their accident rating is considered "deficient" by the FMCSA.
Other factors
Jim Long, director of operations for the Florida Trucking Association, cautioned that statistics often do not reflect the whole story.
Fatality statistics often do not include the cause of the accident, he said, and the truck drivers may not be at fault in the accidents attributed to Florida Rock & Tank Lines.
"I believe that they have a good reputation," Long said. Hauling petroleum is a hazardous business, and Florida Rock's recent accidents may simply reflect bad luck, he said.
Long suggested comparing Florida Rock & Tank to the average trucking or tanker company would not be fair because it makes short-mileage deliveries in urban areas, making them more vulnerable to potential accidents.
McKenzie Tank Lines Inc. of Tallahassee, which Long suggested would be comparable, had no fatal accidents and 33 accidents involving injuries in the past 30 months.
Lt. Kenny Morris of the Florida DOT's Motor Carrier Compliance Office said he has looked at Florida Rock's records.
"There's not a pattern or anything like that," he said. "For the amount of miles they drive, they've got a pretty good safety record."
In 2001, Florida Rock & Tank Lines trucks traveled almost 38 million miles, and Sunbelt drivers logged about 15 million, federal data show.
Repeated attempts to reach Florida Rock & Tank Lines and Patriot Transportation were unsuccessful.