Driver dies after explosion on I-91
Tanker rolls over after swerving to avoid hitting car
CHICOPEE - The driver of a gasoline tanker truck died last night of injuries caused when his truck rolled over on Interstate 91 and its diesel fuel tank exploded, sending a fireball 60 feet in the air.
Aaron J. Staelens, 43, of Richmond, N.H., died at Massachusetts General Hospital, spokeswoman Jennifer Gundersen said.
Staelens swerved to avoid a car crash unfolding in front of him around 9:30 a.m. in the northbound lanes near Exit 13A on the Chicopee curve, a stretch of road that has been the site of frequent tractor-trailer rollovers, State Police and city officials said.
"It's the most dangerous curve on the entire stretch of I-91, and it is a direct result of faulty design," said Mayor Michael Bissonette of Chicopee.
Staelens was rushed to Baystate Medical Center in Springfield. He was then flown by helicopter to Mass. General. A passenger in one car was treated for minor injuries and released from Baystate Medical Center yesterday afternoon.
The four-vehicle accident forced the closing of I-91 south for 1 1/2 hours; I-91 north was closed for nearly five hours.
During the rollover, the trailer with the gasoline tank separated from the tractor and rolled off I-91, down an embankment, and onto Center Street in an industrial neighborhood in Chicopee. The tank, which was filled with 9,600 gallons of gasoline, was burning when firefighters arrived, but did not explode, State Police said.
Firefighters took 90 minutes to extinguish the 1,000 gallons of blazing diesel fuel from the truck's saddle tanks, State Police Captain Barry O'Brien said.
Bissonnette said it was fortunate the accident did not occur near residences. The fireball "was more visually dramatic than dangerous" for the nearby neighborhood, he said.
The company that owned the truck, Abenaqui Carriers of North Hampton, N.H., is also the owner of a gasoline tanker that exploded in Everett in December. In that accident, the truck's tank ruptured, and burning gasoline severely damaged several houses and destroyed dozens of cars.
Abenaqui Carriers said in a statement yesterday that Staelens was "taking evasive action to avoid what may have been a disabled vehicle, and that action caused the tanker to roll over." The statement said that "speed was not a factor." A company spokesman also pointed out that the driver in the Everett crash has not been cited or charged with any wrongdoing.
Yesterday's crash was triggered when a 1995 Subaru stalled as it merged onto northbound I-91 from Interstate 395. The car picked up speed, but then struck a 2002
The gas tanker swerved, but failed to avoid the Subaru and struck it before running onto the right shoulder of the road and hitting a traffic sign. The Subaru was then hit again from behind by another car.
Witnesses told the Springfield Republican newspaper in a story on its website yesterday that the driver was trapped in the truck and that more than a dozen motorists pulled over to try to free the man, some carrying blankets and jackets to smother the flames.
"They were trying to get him out of the cab, but everybody who tried would be stopped by the flames," said Gregory Coleman of Westfield. "There were just a bunch of people running towards the fire. It was crazy."
The driver, however, was able to escape the truck. "There was this sort of ring of fire around the cab, and he was able to pull himself out," O'Brien said.
Moments later, the diesel fuel tanks blew up. "The explosion just rocked the whole bridge," said Rebecca Colemen of Chicopee. "The car bounced."
Chuck Swider, a Chicopee alderman, said he was about a quarter of a mile away when the explosion happened, and he rushed to the scene. "There was an immense amount of fire and black smoke," he said. "The fuel was running down the side of the hill, almost similar to a volcano."
When he arrived, Swider said, rescue workers had not yet reached the scene. Soon afterward firefighters arrived and began trying to fight the flames with water. When that did not seem to work, foam trucks arrived, Swider said.
"It looked like the highway was actually on fire," he said. "It was amazing, thick black smoke. You couldn't see anything but fire and thick, black smoke."
State Police are still investigating whether negligence by any driver was a cause of the accident. Part of the investigation is likely to look at whether the trailer should have detached from the cab in the crash, said Trooper Eric Benson.
Andrew Ryan of the Globe staff and correspondents Kate Augusto, Jillian Jorgensen, and Matt Collette contributed to this report; material from the Associated Press was also used. 