Date: Fri 21-Mar-1997

Publication: Bee

Author: ANDYG

Quick Words:

Wagnblas-truck-crash-police

Full Text:

Police Conclude Investigation Of Fiery Truck Crash

B Y A NDREW G OROSKO

Town police have concluded their investigation into the fiery and explosive

October 1996, gasoline tanker truck accident in Dodgingtown, which killed the

truck driver and resulted in extensive gasoline pollution of soil and

groundwater near George's Restaurant and Pizza.

Vehicle speed and a lack of familiarity with the roadway are listed as

contributing factors in the crash.

At about 8:09 pm on October 7, 1996, trucker David Wagnblas, 28, of Stratford

was driving a tractor-trailer gasoline tanker westbound on Route 302. As he

entered the sweeping curve near Hattertown Road, he lost control of the truck,

hit the brakes and went into a skid, causing the truck to roll onto its left

side and slide onto the southbound shoulder of Hattertown Road and partially

enter the restaurant parking lot. The truck snapped a utility pole and

exploded into flames.

The crash caused a tremendous fire fueled by the more than 9,000 gallons of

gasoline Mr Wagnblas was hauling from Bridgeport to a gas station in Bethel.

Six motor vehicles parked in the restaurant parking lot were destroyed by the

fire and two vehicles received extensive damage.

The crash caused numerous restaurant patrons to run away toward Village Tire

Center, a tire shop next door to the restaurant. About 30 people had been in

the restaurant at the time of the crash.

Amazingly, none of the diners were injured in the incident, but Mr Wagnblas

died of trauma and burns.

Newtown Police Lieutenant David Lydem, who has served on the police department

for about 30 years, said he doesn't recall an accident of the magnitude of the

October crash in Dodgingtown. Lt Lydem is head of the police department's

field services unit.

In his report on the accident, state Trooper C. Bartolotta writes that due to

the damaged condition of the destroyed tractor-trailer truck, which was

incinerated in the crash, an in-depth investigation of vehicle crush patterns

could not be performed and an exact matching of gouge marks in the pavement

could not be done. The driver could not be interviewed and there were no

witnesses to the events just before the crash, he adds.

"The inferences and conclusions reached in this report are based upon evidence

observed at the scene and later translated into formula models," he writes.

After the crash, the trailer was reduced to an axle assembly with only limited

portions of the tire rims visible, according to state police. Engine block and

truck cab debris also remained.

The truck is estimated to have weighed 80,218 pounds at the time of the

accident. That weight included an estimated 9,085 gallons of gasoline it was

hauling.

Through use of a complex formula involving the physics of motor vehicle

accidents, state police place the minimum speed of the truck at 39.28 miles

per hour just before the accident. The area is posted as a 35-mile-per-hour

speed zone.

Based on the presence of skid marks at the accident scene, the brakes

apparently were in working condition, according to Trooper Bartolotta.

Mr Wagnblas had filled out a pre-trip inspection report indicating that no

problems had been found before the truck's departure from Bridgeport,

according to state police.

"It doesn't appear that there were any problems physically, as well as

mentally, with the operator of the tractor-trailer unit the day of the crash,"

Trooper Bartolotta writes. State police had interviewed another trucker who

had spoken to Mr Wagnblas the day of the accident.

"It appears that the operator's unfamiliarity with the roadway may have also

been a factor in the crash," according to Trooper Bartolotta's report.

Mr Wagnblas had been hired by the trucking company, Island Transportation of

North Haven, on January 10, 1996. He had made the gasoline delivery trip

through Dodgingtown only once before, on July 31, 1996.

Through a check of Mr Wagnblas' driving record, state police learned that he

had five previous motor vehicle-related convictions. These are: two counts of

speeding, one count of following too closely, one count of failure to obey a

state traffic commission device, and one count of failure to appear at a

hearing. Mr Wagnblas had approximately six years of experience driving

commercial vehicles.

In January, the estate of Mr Wagnblas notified the town it intends to sue the

town alleging "a defective highway condition" caused the accident.

A multi-million dollar cleanup of the gasoline spilled in Dodgingtown

is continuing.

Domestic water wells that potentially may be affected are being tested and

several have had water filtration systems installed.

MTBE, a gasoline additive, is a source of the pollution.