BOSTON -- A tanker accident involving three other vehicles caused explosion on Interstate 91 near Chicopee early Friday, closing the highway while rescue crews try to clear the scene.
The collision occurred on the northbound side of the highway near Exit 13A with the explosion resulting in a fire. The roadway was shut down in both directions.
A driver may have been trapped in one of the vehicles, according to Springfield television station WWLP.
Tanker Accident Shuts Down Interstate 91 North & South
Mar 28, 2008 9:40 am Updated 10:10 am
CHICOPEE, MASSACHUSETTS (WWLP) - Firefighters are battling a tanker truck fire on Interstate-91 in Chicopee. State police told 22News that a cargo tanker rolled over. A portion of the truck was left the highway and is dangling down onto Center Street in Chicopee. It happened around 9:30 just before exit 13a on I-91 northbound. Black smoke from the accident can be seen for miles. According to state police, Interstate-91 is shut down near the Chicopee curve. Northbound traffic is being redirected onto Interstate-391. Southbound traffic is being directed down Exit 13 onto Route 5. State police are advising motorists to avoid the area.
22News and WWLP.com will have more information as it becomes available.
Late reports say nearby Westover Air Base has units on scene to bring blaze under control. The driver, freed by passersby, reportedly has burns over 70% of his body. Other vehicles are involved. Abernacki trucking of North Hampton, NH is reportedly involved and was the same company involved in a recent Everett accident. The tanker contained gasoline and diesal fuel.
Posted by: kwflatbed
John Suchocki/The Republican
CHICOPEE, Mass. (WBZ) ― A truck driver was critically burned after his fuel tanker rolled over and exploded in a fiery wreck that shut down Interstate 91 in western Massachusetts on Friday.
The driver, who has not been identified, was cut off by a car around 9:30 a.m. and then collided with another vehicle, according to WBZ's Ron Sanders.
Peter Judge, a spokesman for the Massachusetts Emergency Management Agency, said the crash pushed the truck partially off a highway overpass, but it did not fall onto the road below.
The driver was initially trapped in the cab. Witnesses told The Republican of Springfield that more than a dozen drivers pulled over to try to free him, some carrying blankets and jackets to smother the flames.
"They were trying to get him out of the cab, but everybody who tried would be stopped by the flames," said Gregory Coleman of Westfield. "There were just a bunch of people running towards the fire. It was crazy."
Coleman's sister, Rebecca Colemen of Chicopee, said the tanker then exploded.
"The explosion just rocked the whole bridge," she said. "The car bounced."
The driver was eventually rescued and taken to an area hospital. He suffered severe burns over 70-percent of his body, according toe WBZ's Bill Shields.
The fire engulfed three cars, according to Judge, but he had no immediate word on injuries to anyone in those vehicles.
The driver works for Abenaqui Carriers of North Hampton, N.H. The tanker was carrying 9,500 gallons of gasoline and 1,000 gallons of diesel fuel, the company said in a statement.
The company said the rollover was apparently caused when the driver, whom they did not identify, swerved to avoid a disabled vehicle. They said speed doesn't appear to be a factor and the driver never had an accident working for them.
A spokesman for Abenaqui said he did not know the driver's condition.
"At this time, our immediate concern is for the condition of our driver and the well being of those involved," the company statement said.
A driver for the same company rolled over a fuel tanker in Everett in December, sparking a fire that severely damaged several homes and destroyed dozens of cars.
After Friday's crash, diesel fuel spilled on the highway, but Judge said the accident happened in an area that is relatively isolated and that he did not expect homes or businesses to be affected.
Crews pumped the spilled fuel off the road. Some may have run into nearby storm drains, according to WBZ's Ron Sanders.
The fire burned for more than 90 minutes after the crash, and smoke could be seen for miles. Charles Swider, a Chicopee alderman who was on the scene, said the blaze seemed to be "flowing like lava."
The driver of a tanker truck that was involved in a crash and fire in Chicopee Friday morning works for the same company as the tanker involved in a spectacular tanker crash in Everett last December.
Both drivers worked for Abenaqui Carriers in North Hampton, New
Hampshire. In December, a tanker carrying gasoline burst into flames after rolling over on a traffic circle in Everett. The flames destroyed
two multi-family homes and dozens of cars.
The driver of that truck, 30-year-old Chad LaFrance, of Dover,
New Hampshire, was cited for speeding.
The driver involved in this morning's crash in Chicopee was
taken to an area hospital. His name has not been released and his
condition is not known. Police believe other drivers caused him to lose control on Interstate 91.
Media allready bashing the guy. Give the guy a break, he has 3rd degree burns over 70% of his body. Thats going to be hell. If I had burns like that on my body, I would be eating my gun. If I still could move my arms.
Posted by: CJmajor27
I happened upon that accident not long after it took place. With the intensity of the flames I saw, i won't be surprised if the structural integity of that bridge is compromised somewhat.
Posted by: mtc
Quote:
Police believe other drivers caused him to lose control on Interstate 91.
Another report I read on wcvb.com said a red subaru cut the truck off.
The media come all out in blazes - same company as the Everett crash.. blah blah blah....
Then whisper as an afterthought that it wasn't the driver's fault.
Posted by: kwflatbed
Driver dies after explosion on I-91
Tanker rolls over after swerving to avoid hitting car
By James Vaznis and John Dyer
Globe Correspondent / March 29, 2008
CHICOPEE - The driver of a gasoline tanker truck died last night of injuries caused when his truck rolled over on Interstate 91 and its diesel fuel tank exploded, sending a fireball 60 feet in the air.Aaron J. Staelens, 43, of Richmond, N.H., died at Massachusetts General Hospital, spokeswoman Jennifer Gundersen said.
Staelens swerved to avoid a car crash unfolding in front of him around 9:30 a.m. in the northbound lanes near Exit 13A on the Chicopee curve, a stretch of road that has been the site of frequent tractor-trailer rollovers, State Police and city officials said.
"It's the most dangerous curve on the entire stretch of I-91, and it is a direct result of faulty design," said Mayor Michael Bissonette of Chicopee.
Staelens was rushed to Baystate Medical Center in Springfield. He was then flown by helicopter to Mass. General. A passenger in one car was treated for minor injuries and released from Baystate Medical Center yesterday afternoon.
The four-vehicle accident forced the closing of I-91 south for 1 1/2 hours; I-91 north was closed for nearly five hours.
During the rollover, the trailer with the gasoline tank separated from the tractor and rolled off I-91, down an embankment, and onto Center Street in an industrial neighborhood in Chicopee. The tank, which was filled with 9,600 gallons of gasoline, was burning when firefighters arrived, but did not explode, State Police said.
Firefighters took 90 minutes to extinguish the 1,000 gallons of blazing diesel fuel from the truck's saddle tanks, State Police Captain Barry O'Brien said.
Bissonnette said it was fortunate the accident did not occur near residences. The fireball "was more visually dramatic than dangerous" for the nearby neighborhood, he said.
The company that owned the truck, Abenaqui Carriers of North Hampton, N.H., is also the owner of a gasoline tanker that exploded in Everett in December. In that accident, the truck's tank ruptured, and burning gasoline severely damaged several houses and destroyed dozens of cars.
Abenaqui Carriers said in a statement yesterday that Staelens was "taking evasive action to avoid what may have been a disabled vehicle, and that action caused the tanker to roll over." The statement said that "speed was not a factor." A company spokesman also pointed out that the driver in the Everett crash has not been cited or charged with any wrongdoing.
Yesterday's crash was triggered when a 1995 Subaru stalled as it merged onto northbound I-91 from Interstate 395. The car picked up speed, but then struck a 2002 Nissan Altima.
The gas tanker swerved, but failed to avoid the Subaru and struck it before running onto the right shoulder of the road and hitting a traffic sign. The Subaru was then hit again from behind by another car.
Witnesses told the Springfield Republican newspaper in a story on its website yesterday that the driver was trapped in the truck and that more than a dozen motorists pulled over to try to free the man, some carrying blankets and jackets to smother the flames.
"They were trying to get him out of the cab, but everybody who tried would be stopped by the flames," said Gregory Coleman of Westfield. "There were just a bunch of people running towards the fire. It was crazy."
The driver, however, was able to escape the truck. "There was this sort of ring of fire around the cab, and he was able to pull himself out," O'Brien said.
Moments later, the diesel fuel tanks blew up. "The explosion just rocked the whole bridge," said Rebecca Colemen of Chicopee. "The car bounced."
Chuck Swider, a Chicopee alderman, said he was about a quarter of a mile away when the explosion happened, and he rushed to the scene. "There was an immense amount of fire and black smoke," he said. "The fuel was running down the side of the hill, almost similar to a volcano."
When he arrived, Swider said, rescue workers had not yet reached the scene. Soon afterward firefighters arrived and began trying to fight the flames with water. When that did not seem to work, foam trucks arrived, Swider said.
"It looked like the highway was actually on fire," he said. "It was amazing, thick black smoke. You couldn't see anything but fire and thick, black smoke."
State Police are still investigating whether negligence by any driver was a cause of the accident. Part of the investigation is likely to look at whether the trailer should have detached from the cab in the crash, said Trooper Eric Benson.
Andrew Ryan of the Globe staff and correspondents Kate Augusto, Jillian Jorgensen, and Matt Collette contributed to this report; material from the Associated Press was also used
Man may face charges in fatal I-91 crash
The driver police say caused a fatal four-vehicle crash on Interstate 91 in Chicopee on Friday received a summons yesterday to face potential charges in District Court for negligent motor vehicle homicide, violating marked lanes, and reckless operation. State Police said the driver, 35-year-old Victor Aponte of Holyoke, lost control of his 1995 Subaru Impreza while entering I-91 northbound via the onramp from Interstate 391 southbound, triggering a multivehicle crash that caused a tractor-trailer carrying gasoline to swerve, strike a guardrail and sign post, and burst into flames. The driver of the tractor-trailer, Aaron J. Staelens, 43, of Richmond, N.H., was transported to Baystate Medical Center, then Massachusetts General Hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
Case against Holyoke man charged in fiery truck crash delayed
by The Republican Newsroom Friday June 27, 2008, 1:32 PM
Emergency personnel work at the scene of a fiery tanker truck crash March 28 on northbound Interstate 91 in Chicopee, where the highway curves.
Victor M. Aponte Jr. is shown at his arraignment in Chicopee District Court in April in connection with the collision that resulted in the death of fuel truck driver Aaron Staelens, 43, of Richmond, N.H.
CHICOPEE - The case involving the man charged in the fiery fatal accident in March that took the life of a New Hampshire truck driver was continued today in Chicopee District Court.
Victor M. Aponte Jr., 35, of 55 East Court St., Holyoke, who faces charges of motor vehicle homicide by reckless operation, reckless operation of a motor vehicle and marked lanes violation had his case continued to Aug. 19.
Aaron J. Staelens, 43, of Richmond, N.H., died following the March 28 crash.
State police said Aponte caused a chain reaction when he drove onto Interstate 91 north from the on-ramp from I-391 southbound at the so-called Chicopee curve, lost control of his car and struck another.
In order to avoid hitting one of the cars, Staelens veered off the roadway, smashed into a guardrail and a lamppost.
The impact prompted the cab to end up on top of the guardrail but the tractor separated from the cab, rolled down the embankment onto Center Street below causing a huge plume of fire and smoke. More than 10,000 gallons of gasoline and diesel fuel spilled onto the banks of the interstate and onto Center Street creating a fireball.
While the truck driver was trapped in his wrecked cab for a while, he managed to get out but died that same night at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston of his injuries.
Spillage of the gasoline and diesel prompted the shutdown of Center Street for days and a massive environmental cleanup.
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Explosion Shuts Down Highway
John Suchocki/The Republican 
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