Crash of propane truck backs up I-270, North County roads for hours
By Tim O'Neil
Of the Post-Dispatch
Originally Posted Thursday, May 6, 1999
A one-mile stretch of Interstate 270 in north St. Louis County was closed for 10 hours
Wednesday morning and afternoon while workers gingerly righted and unloaded a
liquid-propane tank truck that had crashed onto its side.
Disaster was averted because the highly flammable liquid did not leak, but that early
morning accident caused massive traffic jams during rush hour, touching off a small
number of accidents. In one, a first-grade teacher was critically injured when her
car was rear-ended in the resulting gridlock, some five hours after the tanker crash.
Karen Weir, 36, of west St. Louis County, was listed in critical condition at Christian
Hospital Northeast. The Missouri Highway Patrol said her 1988 Dodge Omni was struck in
the rear by a 1986 Chevrolet Camaro, forcing the Omni into the back of a tractor-trailer
that had stopped on eastbound I-270. Weir teaches at Twillman Elementary School in the
Hazelwood School district. The Camaro's driver, Daniella Morris, 31, of the Spanish Lake
area, was listed in satisfactory condition, and her 4-year-old son, Isiah, was treated
and released.
The rush-hour traffic jam also caused school buses to be late; many students in the
Hazelwood district had only a half day of school. And some employees at a nearby
hospital were two hours late.
"It was gridlock, like in downtown New York if they're giving away something for free,"
said Bellefontaine Neighbors Police Chief David Erker. We're sorry it was such an
inconvenience, but we have to keep the safey of the public foremost on our minds."
The truck was carrying 8,000 gallons of liquid propane, usually used in oil refining,
to a location in St. Louis when, shortly after 3 a.m., it rolled onto the eastbound grass
shoulder of I-270, halfway between U.S. Highway 367 and Bellefontaine Road. Liquid
propane is highly explosive when it turns to vapor.
The driver, Brian Wishard of Oklahoma, told police that the truck inexplicably began
drifting to the right; he had not fallen asleep at the wheel. He suffered minor injuries.
As firefighters and others transferred 2,100 gallons of propane to another truck, police
diverted all eastbound I-270 traffic south onto Highway 367 to avoid the closed section.
Westbound traffic was diverted south onto Bellefontaine Road and across Chambers Road;
both are two lanes wide.
For several hours, the three detour roads were jammed bumper-to-bumper, and the interstate
was backed up both ways for miles. Authorities also closed Dunn Road just to the north
because of the potential for disaster if the tanker truck were to begin leaking.
But the heavy plate-steel tank did not rupture, said Riverview Fire Protection District
Chief Albert Marhanka, though the accident did crack one of the tractor's diesel fuel
tanks.
After removing some of the propane, tow trucks took more than an hour to tilt the trailer
upright. With 5,900 gallons of propane still in the tank, "it was done real gentle,"
Marhanka said.
Police reopened the interstate at 1:30 p.m., after the propane-hauling truck was towed
away
The traffic jam made morning bus runs as much as 25 minutes late in the eastern part of
the Hazelwood district. Students arrived late at Hazelwood East High School and Kirby
Junior High School, despite bus drivers' efforts.
Georgia Gibson, Hazelwood transportation supervisor, said drivers used their two-way
radios to improvise.
"I can't say enough for our drivers and how they did," she said.
Hazelwood teachers were called at their homes at 6 a.m. Wednesday and warned to make an
early start. But some still straggled in late and, when the first bell rang at 8 a.m.,
student attendance in some first-period classes was sparse.
Principal Blaine Henningsen said they excused all latecomers.
"It was brutal," Henningsen said.
Loren Walker, a sophomore, found only a few students in the classroom when she arrived
on time for her advanced algebra class. "Nobody was here," said Walker, 16.
Other commuters had much longer waits. At Christian Hospital Northeast, which is at
I-270 and U.S. 367, some employees were two hours late.
Among the lucky ones was Robin Buck, a food service worker from Edwardsville who once
lived in Florissant and used her knowledge of the sidestreets to avoid being more than
20 minutes late.
Return to Karen Weir update
Last Updated: 12-04-1999
Webmaster: rick.meyer@mail.alagri.com