Three semis have rough day in DeQuincy

Submitted by Det. Jerry Bell, DeQuincy Police Department

On Wednesday, July 31, around 7:30 a.m., Officer Floyd Martin, along with Chief Casey Whitehead and Detective Jerry Bell, responded to a call of a jack-knifed 18 wheeler truck across from the Woodlake Park Estates, LLC, mobile home and RV park. The 18 wheeler had jack-knifed in front of the trailer park, blocking Hwy. 12 West. Traffic control was set up to open one lane of traffic.

Investigation revealed that two 18 wheelers were traveling east on Hwy. 12 when a dog ran between the two trucks. The dog’s owner ran across the highway after the first truck passed, causing the second 18-wheeler to have to apply his brakes to keep from running over the pedestrian. That caused the second truck to jack-knife, which caused extensive damage to the vehicle. The truck driver’s quick action probably saved the life of the pedestrian and should be commended.

A large wrecker had to be called in to remove the truck from the highway. The pedestrian received two citations for this incident and was unharmed. DeQuincy officers were on the scene for about an hour and a half.

Second Accident

Around 9 a.m. on July 31, another call came in about an 18-wheeler being struck by a train on Hwy. 27 near Washington Street and traffic was already backed up to Burger King. Chief Whitehead, Detective Bell, and Officer Martin quickly responded; traffic control points were quickly set up and traffic re-routed to clear some of the Highway.

Chief Whitehead instructed the radio dispatcher to call in for more help and to contact Calcasieu Parish Sheriff’s Office for additional deputies. Captain Tom Threet and Officer Roy Williams responded to the scene, followed by other DeQuincy officers. Soon State Police, CPSO, and the DQPD had traffic under control.

Other agencies soon arrived to assist in the major operation of getting the truck and a huge tank removed. Around 6 p.m. the truck was removed. Railroad signal lights over the highway were destroyed and will have to be replaced by the Railroad.

An investigation of the wreck revealed that the huge truck with a heavy load was trying to weave through the overhead railroad lights. The truck driver got out of the truck to see if he was going to make it when a west bound train came around the curve. The truck driver ran to get out of the train’s way and the train struck the truck causing a tremendous amount of damage.

It was a major operation to clear the truck and the tank from the scene and probably over 40 personnel were involved. It was a long day for DeQuincy officers but no one was hurt in either wreck, which was good. Chief Whitehead thanked his crew for the good work of directing the traffic around the accidents.

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