Late Tuesday morning an unidentified semi driver was driving a tanker truck through west central Montana. A second person, the designated dolly operator, was on the 18 wheeler at the time of the truck accident, controlling the empty tanker section which usually holds propane. The semi was described as being 85 feet long and 90,000 pounds.

The tanker truck is owned by a trucking company based in British Columbia, Canada. On Tuesday it was coming out of Kalispell, MT and was headed for North Dakota when the truck accident occurred.

At around 11:00 a.m. Tuesday morning the semi tanker had reached Missoula County and was traveling south on MT SR 83 at about 15 MPH near the town of Seeley Lake.

MAP

View Larger Map

According to reports the truck accident occurred when the semi driver suddenly lost control of the 18 wheeler near mile marker 16 and went off the highway onto the shoulder. The semi tanker slid on the soft ground surface and then overturned in a ditch running alongside MT SR 83. The tanker truck came to a rest on its right side, temporarily trapping the truck driver and passenger inside the cab section and blocking the southbound lane of the highway.

No other persons or vehicles were involved in the truck accident.

Local first responders rushed to the scene of the rollover crash. Fortunately the truck driver and the dolly operator were able to get out of the semi tanker and were not injured in the truck accident.

Montana Highway Patrol troopers took control of the crash site and diverted motorists around the truck accident scene. Highway crews worked all Tuesday afternoon to clear the traffic lanes of MT SR 83. The cab section of the tanker truck was towed from the collision area after several hours, however officials stated that it would take a day or two to get a heavy duty truck with a crane up to get the flipped tanker section back up on its wheels and hauled off the highway. Until then the tanker truck would continue to block the southbound lane of MT SR 83.

The crane was brought in Wednesday morning and the tanker section was hauled off the highway, a full day after the truck accident.

Police have conducted a reconstruction of the single vehicle truck accident but have not yet released their report. The unidentified driver of the tanker truck reportedly told officials that there was some type of mechanical problem with the semi truck just before it went out of control and overturned on the highway. It is believed the tanker truck was taken to a site where investigators with the Montana State Commercial Vehicle Unit can inspect the semi for mechanical defects that may have led to the crash.

No citations have been brought at this time and the truck accident remains under investigation.

Truck Accidents 360 is a truck accident lawyer news blog that reports on up to date truck accidents across the United States. Since trucking laws are governed by hundreds of regulations, consult with truck accident lawyers who know the trucking laws for each state.

Related searches:

Montana truck accident lawyers
Billings truck accident lawyers

Billings Montana reporter Drew Trafton from KTVQ in Billings reported this story.

Billings, MT – Highway 72 just north of Belfry was closed for more than six hours Sunday after a semi-truck rolled over and burst into flames, killing two people.

Shortly after 11:00 a.m. on Sunday, a family living on Highway 72 heard a loud noise and saw a ball of fire move across their front lawn.

“We’ve had truck wrecks but nothing like this exploding gas and stuff.”

Belfry Fire Chief Greg Maddox was on the first tuck to arrive on scene. “The tanker came around the corner too fast and rolled it here. And tore his tank open and ignited the flames here. They started up in the corner and then rolled down to here, and it was all a ball of flame through here.”

“A lot of flames, because the truck behind us here, was fully engulfed yet. And the house, the heat was really intense by the house. We had to move our truck down a little farther.”

Chief Maddox says a HAZMAT crew rushed to cool off the semi-truck and handle the petroleum leak while the fire crews focused on the house and the family inside.

“It’s pretty hard to train for something like this, we’ve kinda trained with oil and gas fires but nothing like this. Right at the time we got here we were to save the house, or control the house behind us, we didn’t know if the occupants got out or not. We thought the house was engulfed but we managed to control the flames there and then we started cooling off the truck that’s behind us. We just used a lot of water. To cool the iron off. To help start putting out the flames.”

Carbon County officials have released the names of a Fromberg couple who were killed in a fiery semi-truck crash which happened on Highway 72 between Bridger and Belfry.

The sheriff’s department says Kevin Woeppel, 39, and Jodi Woeppel, 46, were killed in Sunday’s crash.

The Montana Highway Patrol reports that the driver of the semi lost control of the truck which overturned in the front of a home directly adjacent to Highway 72. The rig was hauling gasoline and diesel fuel and caught fire.

The accident forced the highway to be closed for more than six hours Sunday and officials say those inside the nearby house were able to evacuate with no injuries.

A clean up crew on the scene says the mixture of fuels in the semi-truck added an extra element of difficulty to the clean-up.

“The tanker had both gasoline and diesel on it. The gasoline, one it burns very hot, so there were those issues were we had to stay back a little farther than normal” explained Tim Mulholland an Environmental Engineer with Hanser’s Automotive. “But also, it travels to the ground fairly quickly, so we wanted to make sure we get out there the next day and dig up as much as we can, so if it rains it doesn’t percolate down into the ground water.”

There’s also a ground well underneath the wreckage, which is the main concern at this time. Officials say it could take up to a week before the site is completely cleared.

The family is uninjured although their house and a truck the family owned did sustain some fire damage.

It is unknown to Montana’s News Station where the semi truck was headed, but we’re told the semi-truck was property of Farstad Oil, Inc.

Members of the Belfry Fire Department say they respond to several accidents on the turn in Highway 72 known as Lynn’s Corner.

Truck Accidents 360 is a news blog where you can find truck accident and attorney information. If you are looking for an attorney or lawyer who specializes in big rig or semi truck truck injury litigation, you can find Montana truck accident attorneys or Billings truck accident lawyers here.