ChasingBlueSky 0 #1 February 23, 2005 I left for work at my usual time today which gets me to the office about 10 min early and I noticed that traffic seemed heavier than it should be at 8:30a. I really got upset once I merged onto I-94 I saw that it was going to take me over an hour to get to my exit just a couple miles away!! Needless to say I was pissed that I didn't check the traffic before I left home. I arrived over an hour late for work and they were understanding which caught me off guard. Apparently everyone heard about the terrible accident that involved one car and three semi trucks that happened at 5am. It shut down traffic for over a 20 mile stretch for up to 5 hours today. I wasn't too upset about being late and a bad start to my morning when I saw the pic attached and read the story below. Perspective is everything. Crash kills 1, shuts down expressway By Courtney Flynn Chicago Tribune staff reporter Published February 22, 2005, 1:34 PM CST A 23-year-old Chicago man was killed today and his sister and her boyfriend were seriously injured when their car was pinned by a semi-trailer truck against a concrete median of the Edens Expressway, police said. The accident happened near Touhy Avenue in north suburban Lincolnwood at the beginning of the morning rush hour, according to the Illinois State Police. It shut down the expressway for a time and snarled traffic for hours afterward. Juan Barrera, of the 2500 block of South St. Louis Avenue, was pronounced dead at the scene, police said. Barrera's sister, Gabrielle Ochoa, 25, who lived at the same address as her brother, and her boyfriend, Jose Andrade, 19, of the 2600 block of South Christiana Avenue, Chicago, survived the crash, said State Trooper Michelle Tufenkjian. They were in serious condition at St. Francis Hospital, Evanston. Earlier broadcast reports stating that the dead victim was 19 years old and that the survivors were his brother and sister were incorrect. Ochoa was driving a white 1996 Chevrolet Caprice about 5 a.m., police said. Barrera was in the back seat, and Andrade, in the front seat. The woman entered the northbound Edens at high speed from the Touhy entrance ramp and darted in front of a semi, Tufenkjian said. The truck rear-ended the car, pushed it into the path of two other semis ahead of it and then crushed the smaller vehicle against the median wall. No one in the trucks was injured. The Edens (Interstate Highway 94) was closed in both directions as rescue personnel used a Jaws of Life extraction device to remove people from the car, CLTV reported. The expressway was partially reopened about an hour after the crash. Traffic was restored to all lanes about 10:30 a.m. _________________________________________ you can burn the land and boil the sea, but you can't take the sky from me.... I WILL fly again..... Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
kai2k1 0 #2 February 23, 2005 If people werent so fuckin impatient and obeyed yield signs when entering an interstate highway accidents of this nature would'nt happen. There's no truer sense of flying than sky diving," Scott Cowan Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
RevJim 0 #3 February 23, 2005 QuoteIf people werent so fuckin impatient and obeyed yield signs when entering an interstate highway accidents of this nature would'nt happen. I'm with you on this one, Rick. It's accidents like these (and I'll be surprised if they don't try and pin it on the truck driver) that helped me in my decision to quit driving and go back to college.It's your life, live it! Karma RB#684 "Corcho", ASK#60, Muff#3520, NCB#398, NHDZ#4, C-33989, DG#1 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
kai2k1 0 #4 February 23, 2005 Dude, its gettin so fuckin bad out here now, i'm ready to give my CDL back to the state and start dealing craps again... Not to mention that i cant get but 2500 miles a week now, and its takes 3000 to live and skydive Jim, Remember what its like trying to cross the Poplar St. Bridge down here in rush hour?? its 10X fuckin worse now. There's no truer sense of flying than sky diving," Scott Cowan Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
skybill 22 #5 February 23, 2005 Hi Chasing, The other posts by CDL and former CDL holders hit a big 10-4 with me to. I gave up the road for several reasons but people in small cars playing chicken with me was one at the top!! I was hauling glass a lot and my average gross wt. off the docks was 75 to 79,995 LBS.!!!! (80,000 lbs is max wt with out a permit) People in little cars don't realize that all I'd feel when I hit them would be a couple of thumps!!! It's sad that this person lost their life but it didn't have to happen. Perhaps a couple of hours of 18 wheel time at max gross wt. might be a good eye opener for people when they take their drivers test then maybe a few of these accidents wouldn't happen!!SCR-2034, SCS-680 III%, Deli-out Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
MWGemini 0 #6 February 23, 2005 I've driven heavy rigs too (although not nearly that heavy). The issue is not the truck drivers, or with people trying to cut them off (although that sucks), but people who are either too stupid or afraid to SPEED UP when getting on the freeway. It seems like people don't realize that traffic is moving at the posted speed limit, and often above it. So they try to merge onto the freeway going 45. I've seen several accidents caused by people doing this, and nearly ran over somebody one day when I couldn't stop in time (and I was only hauling about 30,000lbs at the time). Luckily I was able to drive into the ditch next to the road and not kill anybody. Larger rigs may not have that option. Mike Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
RevJim 0 #7 February 23, 2005 I agree with all of you here. I do still have my Class A, and will keep it 'just in case.' A few years ago I gave a presentation at the high school here about merging into traffic and semi tractor-trailers. At the end I anounced that the driver's ed teacher (he was my teacher too) was in agreement with me, and anyone that merged onto the highway here using the brake pedal would get retrained, over and over, until they got it right, regardless of the number of hours they built up behind the wheel. This same instructor conferred with the local DMV, and the policy here now is "Brake to merge=fail" on the road test. One by one...It's your life, live it! Karma RB#684 "Corcho", ASK#60, Muff#3520, NCB#398, NHDZ#4, C-33989, DG#1 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
wingnut 0 #8 February 23, 2005 QuoteBrake to merge=fail" on the road test. hey i use either braking speed to merge..... but i'musually doing 75 by the timei get to the merge point if there is noone in front of me.... so mybraking would be to fit into aslot but keep up with the flow of trafic.... not going slower...... i hate it wheni get behind the dumbass that thinks they canmerge on the freeway at 45mph.. they don't even think of the 5 cars they have behind them... most of the timeit is a car that is nicer and has more poer than my litle 2L hyundai........ of course i'm straining it to the max withmy rv to getto 55 to get on the freeway... but i have no qualms with putting itinthe ditchifi have to.....it should be fun driving it home to ohio with it loaded close to it's gross vehicle weigh rating of 9,200 lbs.... ______________________________________ "i have no reader's digest version" Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites