In this incident, on October 28th, 2020, A tractor-trailer had overturned on the onramp to WB SR18 and needed two heavy-duty recovery wreckers to help with this emergency incident response. We sent the requested equipment to the scene and then reported to the incident command post for further scene evaluation. We found that motor vehicle fluid was leaking onto the roadway and under the container. Once we got authorization from the driver’s agent, we began our truck accident recovery work.
Pro-Enviro also came to the scene with special equipment to handle the spill, including a flatbed tow truck, dump trailer, and compact track loader with specialized attachments. After some calculations, we needed even more specialized equipment. We called for a heavy-duty Landoll and another heavy-duty recovery wrecker to handle this recovery.
Truck Accident Recovery Process Begins
With the necessary equipment all ready, our team first disconnected the frame from the overturned container. Instead of righting the container, we decided to transport it on its side on the Landoll trailer. We carefully calculated the container’s condition, location, weight, and unknown cargo to make sure we could do the truck accident recovery safely.
Once the container was detached, we successfully righted the tractor and set it up for transport to a safe location while the emergency incident response work continued. Using a heavy-duty rotating crane style wrecker, we performed an overhead crane lift. We then prepared to load the container onto the Landoll. For added safety we installed specialty rigging to help with the limit for safe working loads.
We successfully lifted the container but a new problem arose as the refrigerator fuel tank began to steam. We immediately deployed our recovery personnel to begin safe control measures to contain the new leak. Once it was safely contained, our team finished loading the suspended container and safely secured it, finalizing our emergency incident response. While our team moved the container and tractor to our secure storage yard, Pro-Enviro continued the roadway’s extensive cleanup work.
Measures to Save The Cargo
Even at the storage yard, there was more work to do to complete the job. During the set-up for a safe unload and righting of the container, it began to bulge on one side and make noises immediately deemed unsafe. To prevent the risk of bursting, we left the container until morning when our team could have better light to revaluate the final steps of the truck accident recovery.
Crawford and Co., the insurance company, requested extraordinary measures to save the cargo inside the container. With authorization, we did a temperature test and visual inspection. We found the cargo was still frozen, so there was still a chance to save it. Our skilled team safely lifted the container without further damage. The customer supplied the necessary chassis with a power unit to power the refrigerated unit once again. A service tech handled the installation for us and continued to do service calls to ensure everything remained frozen.
Despite being a much more involved job, our team handled it safely and thoroughly. A successful truck accident recovery complete, with the cargo saved too!
If you require truck accident recovery, give Pro-tow 24-Hour Towing a call.
