One Killed, One Injured in Unrelated Dump Truck Wrecks

From Staff Reports
Two unrelated accidents involving dump trucks took the life of a Bethesda man and injured a Moundsville woman on Friday.

? At about 8 a.m., a tandem dump truck driven by the Bethesda man crashed on Evelyn Avenue in Elm Grove. Wheeling police declined to release his identity Friday, citing a need to notify his next of kin.

According to Wheeling Police Sgt. William Goldbaugh, the truck carrying limestone hit a telephone pole then flipped onto its side on Evelyn Avenue. The driver, who had to be extricated from the cab by Wheeling Fire Department personnel, was the only occupant of the vehicle, which was owned by a Somerton company. Goldbaugh said the accident remains under investigation.

The victim’s body was transported to Wheeling Hospital.

Wheeling Fire Chief Larry Helms said witnesses thought the vehicle might have been having brake problems on the steep hill before it crashed.

“I talked to the owner of the company, and he thinks the driver may have gotten lost. He was supposed to have been heading toward Cameron,” Helms noted.

Firefighters said the roof of the truck cab was partially torn off when they arrived, and the driver was still in his seat belt.

“Our guys got him out and started working on him but he was already gone,” Helms said.

No other vehicles or people were involved in the accident. However, an American Electric Power pole was split and live wires were still attached to the pole but hanging above the pavement. AEP workers were called to the scene to cut the power to allow for cleanup.

Carmen Prati-Miller, American Electric Power spokeswoman, said no residents were immediately left without power following the crash, but an emergency outage was slated to occur at 10:45 a.m. to restore the lines. This outage was projected to last for about two hours. Much of Elm Grove and parts of Bethlehem would be affected by this outage.

? In Moundsville, meanwhile, Marshall County sheriff’s Deputy Sean Montz said city resident Chelsea Ann Madden was injured around 3:15 p.m., when her 1990 Chevrolet Corsica collided head-on with a dump truck on U.S. 250 near Grand Vue Park.

Montz said the Corsica was headed south and traveled left-of-center. He noted the driver of the dump truck, Delmas Roger Robinson, 57, of Center Street, Moundsville drove as far to the right as he could — even striking the guardrail — in an attempt to avoid the crash.

Madden was transported by a Health Net medical helicopter to West Virginia University Ruby Memorial Hospital at Morgantown. Montz said she was alert and talking to rescuers at the scene. He termed her “lucky,” noting that the Corsica did not have air bags and that the vehicle struck the International dump truck owned by Kittle Hauling at an angle rather than directly head-on.

No information on her condition could be obtained at press time.

Both drivers were traveling alone in their vehicles, and both were wearing seat belts, Montz said.

He also praised the volunteer firefighters and medical personnel who responded to the crash.

“I was pretty impressed with the volunteers,” he said, pointing out that departments from Limestone and Moundsville took part in the rescue that required removal of the roof and doors of the car. “They got her out pretty quick. ... I was amazed.”

Montz said the accident remains under under investigation, so no charges or citations have yet been issued. He added that U.S. 250 was closed for about two hours as a result of the crash.