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Two Texans killed in I-10 dust storm-related accidents
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Ted Arnold/For the Range News Tragedy strikes: A red 2005 Kenworth caught on fire in an I-10 collision involving five tractor-trailer rigs during a dust storm last Wednesday afternoon. Driver Steven Brady, 47, and passenger John Zelisko, 55, both of Milam, Texas, were killed. It is believed that two dogs perished in the fire, as well. |
By Carol Broeder/Range News
A dust storm last Wednesday afternoon caused two accidents, one of them fatal, that closed Interstate 10 from 20 miles east of Willcox to New Mexico.
The wreck that killed two Texas men involved five tractor-trailer rigs.
A white 2000 Freightliner, driven by Victor Fuentes, 33, of San Bernadino, Calif., was westbound on I-10 at milepost 367.8 when he slowed because of the dust storm, said Officer James M. Oien, public information officer with the Arizona Department of Public Safety.
A chain reaction occurred in which all vehicles collided with one another from the rear. The order in which the vehicles collided is still under investigation, Oien said.
The second rig, a red 2005 Kenworth, caught on fire resulting in the deaths of driver Steven Brady, 47, and passenger John Zelisko, 55, both of Milam, Tex.
Reports from the scene indicate that there were two dogs in the truck that also died in the fire.
Fuentes was treated and released at University Medical Center in Tucson.
Three other rigs also burned, but the occupants were able to get out, Oien said.
One was a black 2001 Freightliner, driven by Fred Holmes of Oxford, Al., who had no injuries. The second was a black 2000 Freightliner, driven by Wayne Avery, 38, of Augusta, Ga., who also escaped injury.
Blynn E. Wilhoit, of Portaus, New Mexico, was treated and released at Northern Cochise Community Hospital. He had been driving the third rig -- a tan 2007 Peterbuilt transporting milk.
Just prior, there was an unrelated two-vehicle injury accident at the same location, but eastbound on I-10.
In this case, a tractor-trailer rig rear-ended a passenger vehicle.
A 2002 Buick four-door, driven by Emily Bunch, 64, of Trenton, Tenn., was slowing and pulling into the emergency lane due to the dust storm, when she was struck from behind by a blue 2006 International, driven by 39-year-old Melba Sakawski of Elkin, North Carolina, Oien said.
Emily was treated and released at Northern Cochise Community Hospital, and her passenger, Dewey Bunch, 64, also of Trenton, was transported to UMC for head injury. He was listed in good condition on Friday, said Loretta McKenzie, UMC spokeswoman.
Sakawaski and her passenger, Anthony Sakawaski, 39, of the same hometown, were not injured.
The collision did not affect the westbound lanes where the five-vehicle collision occurred, Oien said.
Willcox resident Ted Arnold told the Range News he spoke with Melba Sakawaski, who told him they were "enveloped with dust and blinded in an instant."
Sakawaski told Arnold she had "slowed to 30 miles an hour as she was attempting to pull off the roadway," but that Bunch's car had stopped in front of her rig and she hit them, he said.
The dust "was so bad, they only realized the accident across from them had occurred when they saw the orange glow of the fire...they didn't see the accident that was only yards away," Arnold said.
He told the Range News that while driving to the accident scene, he experienced a "dust blackout for a few seconds, which reduced visibility to just a few feet.
"It was pretty scary with big rigs just in front of me and other vehicles behind me," Arnold said. "You have only micro-seconds to slow and get off the road, but if someone stops in front of you and you can't see them...then, you have a tragedy like this one."
He described the response from the Arizona Department of Public Safety and fire and ambulance crews as "tremendous."
"The fire was tough to put out with the high winds and blowing dust," he said. "The winds were so strong that people were pushed off balance during high gusts, and the parked emergency vehicles were constantly rocked by the winds. Dust and debris was bad, getting into the eyes and lungs of everyone that had to be there."
No citations have been issued pending completion of the investigation, Oien said.
All occupants were wearing seatbelts.
The wreck that killed two Texas men involved five tractor-trailer rigs.
A white 2000 Freightliner, driven by Victor Fuentes, 33, of San Bernadino, Calif., was westbound on I-10 at milepost 367.8 when he slowed because of the dust storm, said Officer James M. Oien, public information officer with the Arizona Department of Public Safety.
A chain reaction occurred in which all vehicles collided with one another from the rear. The order in which the vehicles collided is still under investigation, Oien said.
The second rig, a red 2005 Kenworth, caught on fire resulting in the deaths of driver Steven Brady, 47, and passenger John Zelisko, 55, both of Milam, Tex.
Reports from the scene indicate that there were two dogs in the truck that also died in the fire.
Fuentes was treated and released at University Medical Center in Tucson.
Three other rigs also burned, but the occupants were able to get out, Oien said.
One was a black 2001 Freightliner, driven by Fred Holmes of Oxford, Al., who had no injuries. The second was a black 2000 Freightliner, driven by Wayne Avery, 38, of Augusta, Ga., who also escaped injury.
Blynn E. Wilhoit, of Portaus, New Mexico, was treated and released at Northern Cochise Community Hospital. He had been driving the third rig -- a tan 2007 Peterbuilt transporting milk.
Just prior, there was an unrelated two-vehicle injury accident at the same location, but eastbound on I-10.
In this case, a tractor-trailer rig rear-ended a passenger vehicle.
A 2002 Buick four-door, driven by Emily Bunch, 64, of Trenton, Tenn., was slowing and pulling into the emergency lane due to the dust storm, when she was struck from behind by a blue 2006 International, driven by 39-year-old Melba Sakawski of Elkin, North Carolina, Oien said.
Emily was treated and released at Northern Cochise Community Hospital, and her passenger, Dewey Bunch, 64, also of Trenton, was transported to UMC for head injury. He was listed in good condition on Friday, said Loretta McKenzie, UMC spokeswoman.
Sakawaski and her passenger, Anthony Sakawaski, 39, of the same hometown, were not injured.
The collision did not affect the westbound lanes where the five-vehicle collision occurred, Oien said.
Willcox resident Ted Arnold told the Range News he spoke with Melba Sakawaski, who told him they were "enveloped with dust and blinded in an instant."
Sakawaski told Arnold she had "slowed to 30 miles an hour as she was attempting to pull off the roadway," but that Bunch's car had stopped in front of her rig and she hit them, he said.
The dust "was so bad, they only realized the accident across from them had occurred when they saw the orange glow of the fire...they didn't see the accident that was only yards away," Arnold said.
He told the Range News that while driving to the accident scene, he experienced a "dust blackout for a few seconds, which reduced visibility to just a few feet.
"It was pretty scary with big rigs just in front of me and other vehicles behind me," Arnold said. "You have only micro-seconds to slow and get off the road, but if someone stops in front of you and you can't see them...then, you have a tragedy like this one."
He described the response from the Arizona Department of Public Safety and fire and ambulance crews as "tremendous."
"The fire was tough to put out with the high winds and blowing dust," he said. "The winds were so strong that people were pushed off balance during high gusts, and the parked emergency vehicles were constantly rocked by the winds. Dust and debris was bad, getting into the eyes and lungs of everyone that had to be there."
No citations have been issued pending completion of the investigation, Oien said.
All occupants were wearing seatbelts.
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