Rollover Tanker in our area- i am pissed!

this happened on Thursday. about 4 am a friend called me and told me about the rollover.

From what I know, this tanker was traveling north-westbound at Belmont, he lost it and flipped. He split in to 3 pieces. The tanker came looses around the 5wheel plate and the tanker tore in �. Boy, I was exited!- finally, something big in our area!! I get to do a recovery!! (If they hurry- I only have a little bit of time b4 I have to go to work for the Tollway) I ran around getting dressed and flying to the scene in my truck. I knew we would not get the call immediately because IDOT would relocate this off the road first and they would have to secure the hazmat first. That�s cool, I completely support IDOT and what they stand for and practice (although, sometimes I think some of them need some proper training in towing and recovery) the road needs to get open immediately and b4 IDOT, these stupid towers around here did not practice quick clearance, making a need for IDOT.

 (a word of WARNING to all of you towers in areas that do not have an quick clearance policy or IDOT type organization- it is coming to your area- it will be everywhere in the US soon, if you are not involved in quick clearance and Traffic incident management- your local government will be and they will take the rains and start there own traffic parole and they will just bring out a loader and drag and traffic impediment out of the way b4 you get there!!!! Get involved now and show them they don�t need to do anything- you are already on it and leading the change)

Sorry for the rant, anyway- I got there after IDOT relocated it off to the side and the road was opened shortly after that. I got closer to the scene, but I did not go over. I waited and waited for the call- it never came. Ernie�s towing got the call- it is still somewhat unclear who called them- sometimes the PD lets the trucking company call there own service and maybe the company called ermines- I hope that is the case. We called the police to find out but we are waiting for a call back.

Anyway, here are some pics from local media outlets. I will keep you posted as too what happened when I know.

from NBC 5 Chicago : http://www.nbc5.com/slideshow/4587974/detail.html?qs=;s=3;w=320

From CBS 2 Chicago: http://cbs2chicago.com/topstories/local_story_160072718.html

From ABC 7: http://abclocal.go.com/wls/news/060905_ns_tanker.html#

June 9, 2005 � A tanker burst into flames, sending a ball of fire into the sky above the Kennedy Expressway at Kimball early Thursday morning. The northbound lanes were closed to traffic after the explosion, which occurred around 3:50 a.m, for about an hour and a half. They have since been reopened.

 ABC7 Video
 ABC7 Images

No one was seriously injured in the incident.

A tanker truck containing 6,000 gallons of ether crashed into the cement side of Kennedy Expressway. The impact sparked an explosion.

"The truck was coming, I saw a little gray van coming this way and I was coming east and the truck, like, flipped and I saw when it separated and the back end of the truck when it separated, it flipped and hit the rail right there. I thought it was going to come toward me and I pulled off the highway as fast as I could. And the back end blew up into a big ball of fire," said Antonio Quintero. "You could hear the explosion. Boom."

"The trailer and the cab, that's what it is designed to do. Once there's an accident, there's a rollover, they separate from each other," said Lt. Bill Toman.

The rig's driver refused medical treatment at the scene. Despite the crash, he was able to help police with information about the combustible material. He is now talking to police and has reportedly said that another vehicle cut him off, forcing him to swerve.