Truck that collapsed bridge four times legal limit Truck driver pleads guilty to exceeding weight restriction by Tara Kinsell Staff Writer tkinsell@observer-reporter WAYNESBURG – The driver of a tanker truck that collapsed a portion of the historic Pollocks Mill Bridge Sept. 28 pleaded guilty Thursday to charges the truck was four times the allowable weight restriction for the bridge. Jason Wayne Strawderman, 38, of Beverly, W.Va., was fined $10,297.50 for disobeying a traffic control device and two counts of operating a vehicle that exceeded the weight restriction for bridges and highways. Police said Strawderman’s truck weighed 33,100 pounds. The weight limit for the 116-year old bridge is 8,000 pounds. To access the bridge, Strawderman drove on a 20,000-pound weight-restricted roadway. It is yet to be determined if the bridge is repairable or will require replacement, according to Greene County Chief Clerk Jeffrey Marshall. Marshall said inspectors from Widmer Engineering were trying to figure out how to rig the bridge to safely do inspections. Marshall said this will require a boom truck at one end, a man lift at the other and a boat in the water below. The process to determine the future of the bridge could take weeks as each individual joint must be tested, Marshall said. The county will seek damages from Buccaneer Enterprises Inc. of Buckhannon, W.Va., owners of the truck, for replacement of the bridge or reimbursement of repair costs, Marshall said. According to court documents, Buccaneer Enterprises remitted payment of the $10,297.50 in fines to the court Thursday with Strawderman listed as the responsible party. Strawderman told police his GPS led him to the bridge and he did not see any weight restriction signs for it. He was traveling to EQT’s Nicoloff well site on Pollocks Mill Road. Buccaneer Enterprises is subcontracted by EQT. Strawderman told a trooper he applied his brakes when the truck compromised the bridge, climbed out and across the structure to reach a release valve on the truck, dumping its contents into Ten Mile Creek. He said this was in an attempt to lighten the truck and keep it from collapsing the structure further. The truck tank has “fresh water” written on the side. There were no visible signs of chemical contamination in the water, below or near the bridge, the day of or the day following the incident. Department of Environmental Protection spokesman John Poister said his agency was not happy Strawderman dumped his load but it was satisfied, following an investigation, that the water in the tanker was fresh water taken from the Monongahela River. When Strawderman drove through the overpass leading to the bridge he was being followed by a second tanker truck that stopped short of the overpass, according to witness, Trevor Kniha, 16, of Waynesburg. Kniha was traveling behind the trucks on his way to a nearby residence along Pollocks Mill Road when he saw Strawderman’s truck “barely cleared the overpass,” he said. The second truck stopped short of the overpass and backed up, according to Kniha. Removal of the truck from the bridge was a two-day operation due to a necessary temporary shut off a gas line that crosses the bridge. Gas company representatives estimated the line supplies gas to roughly 4,500 customers. Wades towing of Waynesburg used a 65-ton Peterbilt Rotator tow truck and a 45-ton Peterbilt Slider tow truck operating in tandem to remove the truck. Steel beams were then welded to each end of the bridge and road closure signs were placed to prevent anyone from entering it. observer-reporter/article/20141009/NEWS02/141009413#.VDe1QOdbMiY
Posted on: Fri, 10 Oct 2014 10:35:19 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015