Report: Driver inattention caused turnpike wreck in which 10 died

[proud2BlibKansan]

OKLAHOMA CITY | The inattention of a tractor-trailer driver led to a wreck on the Will Rogers Turnpike that killed 10 people, the Oklahoma Highway Patrol said in a report released Monday.

Investigators looking into the June 26 wreck in far northeastern Oklahoma said troopers spoke with the driver, 76-year-old Donald L. Creed of Willard, Mo., at the scene of the accident and that Creed, while still in his vehicle, "asked if he had hit someone."

The inquiry showed no attempt by Creed to brake or take evasive action, no apparent problems with his brakes or steering and "strong evidence" that cruise control was in use, as his vehicle was traveling "consistently at 69.5 to 71 mph" for about 4.5 minutes before the collision.

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The 32-page OHP report said that when investigators tried to determine what Creed's physical condition had been before the collision, "it was listed as unknown due to his declining to be interviewed upon the advice of his attorney."

Authorities had said earlier that before the crash, Creed had worked 10 hours straight delivering groceries in sweltering heat but he did not exceed the federal daily driving limit.

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According to the report, while at the scene, Creed "stated that vehicles had driven underneath him while he was parked." Troopers noted that "Creed had no visual obstructions" and could have seen at least 2,400 feet prior to initial impact.

http://www.kansascity.com/news/breaking_news/story/1361802.html

[Tangerine LaBamba]

1. SEVENTY-SIX YEARS OLD!!!!!

And he's driving a tractor-trailer professionally?

That has GOT to be a typo..................

[proud2BlibKansan]

4. After working a 10 hour day

[Tangerine LaBamba]

5. In the heat -

I don't care what kind of great physical condition he's in, a seventy-six-year-old man doesn't have the muscle tone, the reflexes, the concentration, the vision, or the hearing of a younger man, and the idea that he was allowed to work this kind of job for those hours, under those circumstances, just floors me.

All those dead people, and this guy survived.

I mean, a tractor-trailer? Those things are BIG and you have to be physically strong to maneuver one of them.

This can't be right. It's GOT to be a typo..............................

[XOKCowboy]

6. You don't have to be physically strong to drive one but...

You do have to be mentally strong/alert to keep one in control. Modern day trucks can be driven by anyone thanks to power steering and modern electronic systems.

Now as to your main point I certainly agree. Also we don't know how many consecutive days this guy had been working those hours in the heat. I'm just saying that driving a big rig is not that different than driving another vehicle as far as physical strength.

[kentuck]

2. The fucker was 76 years old!

What more do you need to know?

He had already driven 10 hours? How much stamina is a 76-year old man supposed to have. Maybe we need to raise the retirement age on Social Security for these old coots and make them work until they are eighty?

Doesn't that sound real logical?

[RamboLiberal]

3. That's the damn Republican plan

We peons can work till we kill ourselves - or others if we're in a job like truck driving. They don't give a damn. They think everyone should have a job till they drag the cold dead body out of the workplace.

[XOKCowboy]

7. Which brings up another point. If he was a Teamster...

(which is doubtful in Right To Work Oklahoma) he'd have had a pension and be retired and fishing that day.

[proud2BlibKansan]

9. He was driving for a firm here in KS

But this is a Right to Work For Less state too.

[BirminghamExaminer]

8. Tractor trailers have cruise control?

Trucking is ANOTHER industry that was deregulated. When will libertarians realize that libertarianism died when the unregulated banks failed?

Trucking accidents are on the rise because truckers are pushed to the limit by trucking companies that were once regulated and weren't allowed to let drivers spend too many hours on the road.

[proud2BlibKansan]

10. Yes that stunned me as well