Tanker Explodes

[Meddle]

I was just looking at that. It's been years since I drove that and I couldn't remember exactly which bridge this was. The 'big curve' is south of there at the John R. bridge, so I don't see why he had a problem at 9 Mile. Is the pavement still grooved? I knew somebody who rode a motorcycle that cussed those grooves.

[Huggybear]

He'd need to have PLPD to legally be driving. it'll pay 1 million out to cover property damage your car does to property of another.
.

The question is; did he even have insurance? from his attitude on that interview, I'm going to guess "no".

I suspect that if his insurance pays out $1mm, and he has to suck up the rest himself, that he won't be behind the wheel legally any time soon [[much less play Fast and Furious: Oakland [[Lane) Drift. I thought I heard they were going to pursue him on this. And for people who think that doing 20 over is a trivial matter and question why there should be speeding tickets for doing 90 mph on I-75 [[or 70 in the curves), this is your answer. There is no objective way to separate people who know how to drive from idiots.

[Stosh]

These tanker roll overs used to happen quite often back in the late 70's. We had like one or two summers around here there were several. The Propane tanker that went off the ramp on I-94 and exploded. There was one that flipped and burned on the exact same curve as the most recent, the infamous 9 mile curve. If I remember correctly. There was one or two on I-94 near Telegraph. One or two summers there were large truck accidents everywhere. One of the reasons they tightened down on trucking and invoked the pre-trip inspections and CDL licenses.

I remember a few tanker crashes in the 70's. One was at the interchange of I-75 and I-94. Fortunately for MDOT, the truck landed right on the grassy area between all the bridges. That thing was spewing flame about 40 feet or more in the air, like a blowtorch.

Another was in the area of 94 and 8 Mile, I think. I had just left the freeway and was going on the service drive when a ball of flame came out of the freeway area.

[7andkelly]

so... is this an insensitive moment to mention how we really need better mass transit?

After 47 were injured in the recent light rail collision in SF, is this an insensitive moment to mention what a duma$$ idea mass transit is?

[punky1]

I have been on the northbound side at evening rush hour and saw a car on the southbound side upside down flying throught the air a considerable distance in the curve section a few years back. Then once going southbound, saw a car going northbound on its side sliding through the last part of the curve. Not a safe section on I 75. But some church didn't want to move when they built this section of I75 so all the people who travel through there every day year after year get to take on the risk, the insurance companies bear the cost for any accidents, and now the state, ie taxpayers pay the price, and the church....long gone.

[Stosh]

I have been on the northbound side at evening rush hour and saw a car on the southbound side upside down flying throught the air a considerable distance in the curve section a few years back. Then once going southbound, saw a car going northbound on its side sliding through the last part of the curve. Not a safe section on I 75. But some church didn't want to move when they built this section of I75 so all the people who travel through there every day year after year get to take on the risk, the insurance companies bear the cost for any accidents, and now the state, ie taxpayers pay the price, and the church....long gone.

I wonder where this story got started. I always thought that the freeway followed the right of way for a trolley line in the teens that mirrored the Stephenson Highway. M-150.

Take a look.

http://freepages.history.rootsweb.an...l/1916plat.jpg

Also, view the aerial photo from 1967 before construction started:
http://www.clas.wayne.edu/photos/par.../ga-18-155.pdf

[unclefrank]

That curb is no big deal unless you have no driving skill at all.

[Meddle]

Seems like I predicted up above somewhere that through traffic would be restored in about a week.

Fast work on I-75
Northbound lanes to open today

BY JENNIFER DIXON • FREE PRESS STAFF WRITER • July 20, 2009

The northbound lanes of I-75 between I-696 and 8 Mile are expected to reopen later today, possibly before the evening commute and just five days after a rookie driver slammed into a fuel tanker, igniting an explosion that caused more than $2 million in damage.

The southbound lanes reopened Sunday afternoon after round-the-clock work by resurfacing and demolition crews, said Michigan Department of Transportation spokesman Rob Morosi.

Don Rudgers, 72, a retired auto mechanic from Ferndale who was watching the crews Sunday told Morosi, who was at the scene, that he was "proud to see my tax monies go to good."

It is unclear whether Saied Haidarian Shahri, 27, of Clawson, who police say caused Wednesday's accident, will be held accountable for the expense of the repair or charged with a crime. The Oakland County Prosecutor's Office could not be reached Sunday.

The explosion destroyed the year-old 9 Mile bridge, which will cost an estimated $2 million to replace and take several months to complete, Morosi said. The I-75 repaving will cost about $90,000; the demolition of the bridge and debris cleanup will cost another $78,000.

Once the police report is complete, the state Attorney General's Office may seek to recover some of those costs from "whomever is cited to be at fault in the accident," Morosi said.

http://freep.com/article/20090720/NE...-75-expressway

[Gannon]

You could have all the driving skill in the universe, and if your machinery isn't up to snuff...end up looking like a drunk third-worlder behind the wheel. Simply bad shocks, worn tires, and a bad alignment would do the trick...added to the unfortunately very common one-hand driving technique...it is a recipe for trouble.

I scoot around and away from vehicles that are clearly dangerous...but a huge truck in traffic usually doesn't have such opportunity.

[dnvn522]

I suspect that if his insurance pays out $1mm, and he has to suck up the rest himself, that he won't be behind the wheel legally any time soon [[much less play Fast and Furious: Oakland [[Lane) Drift. I thought I heard they were going to pursue him on this.

I believe they'd have to take him to court for additional money, and if he doesn't have any...then is it worth it? I'll bet ya that MDOT covers the rest of the bill.

[7andkelly]

I believe they'd have to take him to court for additional money, and if he doesn't have any...then is it worth it? I'll bet ya that MDOT covers the rest of the bill.

I don't think there's any blood in this turnip. If he's at fault, especially since he's unremorseful, deport him.

[Detroitej72]

Seems like I predicted up above somewhere that through traffic would be restored in about a week.

Before you pat yourself on the back, didn't you predict earlier that it wouldn't open until October?

"I'd say October at the earliest."

[Detroitej72]

I don't think there's any blood in this turnip. If he's at fault, especially since he's unremorseful, deport him.

Apparently he wants someone to help him get a new car, says he needs transportation to get back and forth to school.

BTW, according to the Freep, the guy is a computer whiz who has multiple degrees, yet he fails to understand basic drivers ed.

[Meddle]

Before you pat yourself on the back, didn't you predict earlier that it wouldn't open until October?

"I'd say October at the earliest."

Read the rest of that post.

If they work 24 hrs a day like they did in Minneapolis or Oakland, I would guess at least a week for debris removal and basic repairs to get 75 open to traffic.

Then another month or two of intermittant closures for repaving, pier work, deck replacement and other permanant repairs.

I'd say October at the earliest.

[jtf1972]

I-75 follows the old path of Oakland Blvd.

[Meddle]

Driver in I-75 tanker crash pays speeding ticket

BY ZLATI MEYER
FREE PRESS STAFF WRITER

The 27-year-old Clawson man whom investigators said caused the fiery tanker crash on I-75 last month has paid his speeding ticket.

Advertisement

Saied Haidarian Shahri’s attorney Angela Peterson confirmed Monday night that he paid the $150 fine at 43rd District Court in Hazel Park earlier that day. The civic traffic citation also adds two points to his driver’s license.

On July 15, Shahri was heading north on I-75 near 9 Mile when he lost control of his car and smashed into a tanker truck. The explosion caused $2 million in damages and destroyed the 9 Mile overpass.

http://freep.com/article/20090817/NE...peeding-ticket

[48202]

I’m disappointed. I was looking forward to him trying to fight it.

Judge: How fast were you driving?
Defendant: um….

Judge: What speed did your speedometer indicate?
Defendant: silence

[Meddle]

Posted: 9:36 a.m. Aug. 21, 2009 | Updated: 11:16 a.m. today
Michigan seeks $3.4M after I-75 tanker explosion

BY MATT HELMS
FREE PRESS STAFF WRITER

The state wants insurance companies to pay $3.4 million in costs associated with the fiery tanker crash that knocked down half of the 9 Mile Road overpass above I-75 in Hazel Park last month.

“That includes the cost of rebuilding in addition to the costs of cleaning up,” John Sellek, a spokesman for Michigan Attorney General Mike Cox, said this morning.

Cox’s office is representing the Michigan Department of Transportation in recouping the millions in damage and cleanup costs from the July 15 wreck that led the state to tear down the remainder of the overpass and closed I-75 to traffic for several days.

Sellek said Michigan’s no-fault insurance laws allow the state to seek reimbursement from three vehicles MDOT says were involved in the wreck: a passenger vehicle driven by a Wayne State University graduate student and two big rigs.

Saied Haidarian-Shahri, 27, the computer science student at Wayne State, was ticketed for speeding and has paid the $150 fine after initially saying he would fight the citation.

Haidarian-Shahri has since apologized for the crash, in which police say he lost control of his 2004 Honda Civic and collided with a fuel tanker that exploded, causing a fire that burned for hours and weakened steel bridge support beams so badly that the portion of the span over the northbound lanes collapsed. A second truck carrying produce was destroyed in the fire.

Michigan’s no-fault insurance laws allow the state to file claims against insurers for each of three vehicles, Sellek said.

“All that’s happened so far is we’ve submitted claims to the carriers, and we’re waiting to hear back,” Sellek said. He said he wouldn’t be able provide the names of the insurers because Cox’s office is closed today for mandatory state worker furloughs.

Sellek said the attorney general’s office handles about 200 cases a year involving damage to roadways, lighting, guardrails and other property on MDOT’s behalf, and claims are more typically in the $8,000 to $10,000 range. Sellek said the state will try to settle the case and avoid lengthy litigation.

MDOT said it spent $168,000 to clean debris and repave damaged roadway on I-75. MDOT has since announced that it plans to replace the 9 Mile overpass, which was rebuilt in 2008, with a longer bridge and wider section of I-75 that would accommodate future plans to add a lane to I-75 from 8 Mile to M-59 in Oakland County.

Contact MATT HELMS: helms@freepress.com.

http://freep.com/article/20090821/NE...in-tanker-fire

[jtf1972]

Why only add one lane? I could see 1-75 north of 8 mile being a bigger and better parking lot than anyone could ever imagine!