KSFY News - Sioux Falls, SD News, Weather, Sports
Thirteen people were ejected from a van that crashed on I-90 near Worthington, Minn. early Thursday morning.
The 2003 Chevy Express G3500 was heading east on I-90 when icy roads caused the vehicle to crash and roll. The driver, 29-year-old Altayeb Arbab-Azzein of Sioux Falls, was wearing his seatbelt. Thirteen of the passengers were ejected from the vehicle and everyone was taken to a hospital in Worthington, according to deputies on scene.
Click here to read original article on line at KSFY - ABC News
Klaw Reh, 22, Talla Agra, 52, Bhandari Mekh, 28, and Mussa Alaaldeen, 32, are in serious condition according to the Minnesota Highway Patrol Office.
Mju Mohamed, 26, Reh Pleh, 47, Tiwari Ganga, Tamire, Shimeles, 30, Chuwan Tara, 38, Gurung Rabi, 37, Abdelmunem Abdallah, 54, Reh Ray, 22, Dhakal Dirga, 29, and Tornyang Nykaor, 41, all sustained non-life threatening injuries.
The van has South Dakota license plates, and all of the victims were from Sioux Falls.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration advises that the risk of rollover in a 15-passenger vans is high.
Examining crash data from 2003 to 2007, the administration found that a 15-passenger van with 10 or more occupants had a rollover rate nearly three times higher than one carrying fewer than five people.
The NHTSA research also found that drivers often lack experience with these large vehicles, which can lead to higher risk on the road.
UPDATE: Thirteen Passengers Ejected From Van That Rolled On Interstate 90 Early On Thursday
Date posted - October 25, 2013
Minnesota State Patrol MnSPUPDATE: According to a JBS Swift employee, all the victims in the 15-passenger van accident on Thursday early morning were workers at the Worthington meat packing plant. The victims are some of the approximately 200 people who make the drive from Sioux Falls, SD to Worthington each day to go to work.
Worthington, Minnesota — Thirteen people were ejected from a van during a crash on Thursday, October 24 near Worthington.
The Minnesota State Patrol reports that about 1:40 AM, 29-year-old Altayeb Arbab-Azzein was westbound on Interstate 90, near exit 42 at Worthington in a 2003 15-passenger Chevy van.
The patrol says the driver lost control on the icy roadway, and the van entered the median and rolled. Fifteen people were in the van at the time of the crash, 13 were ejected.
The Worthington Fire Department & Worthington Ambulance and Adrian Ambulance responded.
Arbab-Azzein was taken to Sanford Worthington Hospital by Worthington Ambulance.
The van was totaled.
The injured include:
Mju Mohamed, 26, male, Sioux Falls, SD, non-life threatening injuries
Reh Pleh, 47, male, Sioux Falls, SD, non-life threatening injuries
Tiwari Ganga, female, Sioux Falls, SD, non-life threatening injuries
Tamire Shimeles, 30, male, Sioux Falls, SD, non-life threatening injuries
Tara Chuwan, 38, female, Sioux Falls, SD, non-life threatening injuries
Rabi Gurung, 37, male, Sioux Falls, SD, non-life threatening injuries
Abdallah Abdelmunem, 54, male, Sioux Falls, SD, non-life threatening injuries
Reh Ray, 22, male, Sioux Falls, SD, non-life threatening injuries
Alaaldeen Mussa, 32, male, Sioux Falls, SD, serious injuries
Reh Klaw, 22, male, Sioux Falls, SD, serious injuries
Agra Dalli, 52, female, Sioux Falls, SD, serious injuries
Mekh Bhandari, 28, male, Sioux Falls, SD, serious injuries
Dirga Dhakal, 29, female, Sioux Falls, SD, non-life threatening injuries
Tornyang Nykaor, 41, female, Sioux Falls, SD, non-life threatening injuries
Thursday, October 24, 2013
Wednesday, October 23, 2013
Monday, October 21, 2013
Global News: Interview with "Driven" author, Richard Foot
Author Richard Foot speaks about "Driven: How the Bathurst Tragedy Ignited a Crusade for Change" on Global Morning News Halifax, Nova Scotia.
Click here to watch show on GlobalTV On line
Mothers Dispute Transport Canada Findings: Say 15 Passenger Vans Still Unsafe
Left to right, holding the Boys in Red banner that was made for the May 27, 2010 Press conference at the National Press Gallery in Ottawa are Isabelle Hains, Bathurst, New Brunswick, Bryan Murphy, CUPE Nanaimo, British Columbia, Delalene Harris Foran, CUPE 1253 New Brunswick, and Stella Gurr, Nanaimo, BC.
ATTENTION: Postmedia Group/Newspapers
EDITORS: Please consider this article for your OP-ED section
15-PASSENGER VANS ARE STILL UNSAFE ACCORDING TO VANANGELS
by Isabelle Hains and Stella Gurr
As mothers who have been at the centre of the 15-passenger van debate, we must comment on the articles that appeared in some Postmedia newspapers this past week entitled: “ “Death Trap’ as safe as safe as other large vehicles,report says”, “ ‘Death Trap’ deemed safe”, “Report deems so called ‘death trap’ vans’ as safe as other large vehicles.”
Our sons Daniel Hains and Michael Gurr were killed in two separate 15-passenger van accidents in Bathurst, New Brunswick and Brandon, Manitoba in January and September, 2008. Our group, the VanAngels has been actively advocating for the safe transport of students and small groups since the untimely, preventable deaths of our beautiful Boys. Our story is recounted in the book "Driven: How the Bathurst Tragedy Ignited a Crusade for Change" by Richard Foot. Since our son’s deaths, we have educated ourselves about the danger of 15-passenger vans. In our opinion, the article's headline is misleading and readers may conclude that 15-passenger vans are safe. Nothing could be further from the truth.
Our VanAngels group has worked more than 5 ½ years to educate the public and expose the real facts about 15 passenger vans. The simple nugget of truth is that their inherent high centre of gravity, instability issues, difficult handling characteristics combined with unpredictable human behaviours is a disaster waiting to happen.
15-passenger vans are dangerous not only for the driver and the occupants of the van but also for other motorists on our Canadian roads. Even the Canadian Council of Motor Transport Administrators (CCMTA), which was charged with leading the evaluation study into the 15- passenger van safety review by Transport Canada, agrees with us in their “Safety Guidelines for the use of 15-passenger vans: "…it is important to recognize that these vans handle differently than passenger vehicles especially when fully loaded with people or luggage/equipment…” and “Fifteen passenger vans are large vehicles and do not respond well to abrupt steering and require additional braking time”.
The only reason the 15-passenger van performed as well as and sometimes better than the two school buses and the CSA-D270 Multifunction Activity Bus (MFAB) is because they are larger and heavier than the 15-passenger van. This is not new information and we were not surprised because any vehicle with a high center of gravity tends to be more unstable than one with a lower center of gravity. Also a heavier vehicle will naturally have a longer stopping distance.
TC does not have the mandate to ban 15-passenger vans. It is a provincial jurisdictional power. TC has openly said that they will never say that one vehicle is safer than another except for yellow school buses.
As of September 2011,Transport Canada has made it mandatory that all new vehicles under the gross vehicle weight rating (GVWR) of 4,535 kg. require an Electronic Stability Control (ESC) system. We agree that ESC can be beneficial but the public needs to be aware that as of July 1st , 2008 there were approximately 27,674 registered 15-passenger vans of which 80% (21,989) do not have ESC. ESC does nothing to protect the occupants in a crash or rollover.
After the Bathurst tragedy in 2008 it was determined that policies and guidelines were in place but not followed. We are concerned that the CCMTA’s non-binding recommendations and guidelines lack substance for effective, meaningful change. These guideline and recommendations clearly put the onus and responsibility on the owners and drivers of 15-passenger vans. We are adamant that the use of just guidelines and recommendation will have no effect on driver behaviour if it is not backed up by regulation and enforcement. The unpredictability of human behaviour in emergency situations and the vans problematic design are a lethal combination on our roads.
The Multifunction Activity Bus used in some of the testing is a CSA-D270 MFAB or in the US is called a Multifunction School Activity Bus (MFSAB) and these vehicles are built to yellow school bus standards. There is a certification label on each bus and if it does not have CSA-D270 or MFSAB or School Bus (SB) written on the label than it is not built to a yellow school bus standard and it is a regular MFAB built to a lower standard the same as a 15-passenger van. Transport Canada and the provinces all agree that a yellow school bus is the safest mode of transport for students. Therefore why are schools putting children in 15-passenger vans and why is the government not promoting the CSA D-270 MFAB or the MFSAB?
Canadians need to know Transport Canada’s paired crash test showed that the adverse effects on the dummy occupants were greater in the 15-passenger van than the MFAB D-270. The report was quietly put on their TC website and received no media attention, that is, until your newspaper printed an article with a headline with the rather unfortunate use of the word "safe". We still believe regardless of how the vehicle is driven or maintained, this does nothing to change the inherit design flaws of these vehicles.
Isabelle Hains of Bathurst, New Brunswick and Stella Gurr of Nanaimo, British Columbia have been advocating for the safe transportation of students and small groups since the deaths of our sons, Daniel and Michael, in two separate 15 passenger van crashes in 2008. They are known as the VanAngels and their website can be found at http://www.VanAngels.ca
__________
Van Angels
info@VanAngels.ca
http://www.VanAngels.ca
Telegraph Journal: New book chronicles Van Angels’ fight for justice
Chris Morris
Legislature Bureau
21 Oct 2013 08:06AM
To some people, they were just troublemakers unable to get beyond the heartbreak caused by the accidental deaths of their beloved sons.
To others, Isabelle Hains and Ana Acevedo were heroines fighting to correct a flawed system that killed their sons, Daniel and Javier, along with five other teenage boys and a teacher in a horrific crash on a highway outside Bathurst in 2008.
To author Richard Foot, Hains and Acevedo are portraits in courage, women who deserve everyone’s admiration for daring to stand up and say “Why?” and “Never again.”
Foot’s book, Driven, which hits the stands this week, is a gripping account of the mistakes, the bureaucratic failures and the fight for justice that came out of the deaths of the Boys in Red. The subtitle of the 264-page book, published by Goose Lane, is How the Bathurst Tragedy Ignited a Crusade for Change.
To be clear at the start, Foot, a Halifax-based journalist who covered the crash, does not believe it was what is often described as “an unavoidable accident.”
“I don’t think it was an accident at all,” Foot said in an interview.
“There were four guidelines in the Education Act at the time of the crash that are particularly relevant. Three of them were: no travel at night, no travel in snow storms and drivers can’t be on duty for more than 14 hours. If any of those three had been followed, the crash would not have happened. It’s just common sense. The fourth one was winter tires on vehicles in the winter and we know that police and Transport Canada investigators said that was a major contributing factor. So if that fourth guideline had been followed, the crash almost certainly would not have happened. “In the face of that kind of evidence, I don’t see how anyone can call it an unavoidable accident. I think it was entirely avoidable.”
Javier Acevedo, Codey Branch, Nathan Cleland, Justin Cormier, Daniel Hains, Nick Kelly, Nickolas Quinn and Elizabeth Lord, the wife of coach Wayne Lord – who was at the wheel of the 15-passenger van when it slid into the path of a transport truck – were all killed on Jan 12, 2008, in one of the worst vehicle crashes in New Brunswick history.
It is painful to read the opening chapters of Driven as Foot retraces the doomed trip in a rundown, 15-passenger van with balding, all-season tires and worn brakes driving on snowy, slushy roads.
Any parent will be affected by the account of the moms and dads who were waiting that night for the Bathurst High basketball players to return from a Moncton game – the kind of scene replayed throughout the school year by parents with kids in school athletic programs.
One of the boys, Nick Kelly, turned 16 just eight minutes before Lord lost control of the van and slid in front of the transport truck. One of the last things that happened in the vehicle was everyone singing Happy Birthday – a bunch of great kids with what should have been long, wonderful lives ahead of them.
In a journal entry, Hains spoke to her son Dan after identifying his body at the morgue. “I remember asking the nurses if you suffered and they said you didn’t,” she wrote. “I don’t know how long I stayed there with you. I told everyone in the room you were a good boy. Beautiful boy. My gentle giant.” While some families quietly accepted their loss and moved on with their lives, Hains and Acevedo turned their grief and anger into a crusade to try and make school transportation safer for everyone in Canada.
Because of the Bathurst tragedy, rules are a lot tighter in New Brunswick, one of three provinces that now ban 15-passenger vans for the transportation of students.
And the “guidelines” which would have prevented the tragedy had anyone of them been followed that night, are now firm policies.
The mothers, who became known as the Van Angels, are still battling for national standards and while they have had some success on that front, there is nothing definitive at this point. A series of tests at the federal level concluded that 15-seat vans, in and of themselves, are not inherently dangerous. But there is a wide acceptance that they need to be driven in a special way to make sure they are safe.
Foot said he believes that school, provincial and municipal officials – many of whom would not be interviewed for his book – tried to gloss over the alleged failures at the heart of the tragedy.
“I feel like they sort of circled the wagons,” he said.
“I think official New Brunswick should have been willing to ask some harder questions about why it happened instead of just accepting the common view held by many people that it was just a freak, unavoidable accident and we should just deal with our grief and move on.” Foot said he believes that if Hains and Acevedo had not pushed for it, there would not have been a coroner’s inquest into the crash. One was finally held in the spring of 2009.
“I really don’t understand why an inquest wasn’t immediately ordered,” he said.
“It took months for that to happen and in my opinion it took these women to start campaigning for it. I believe they are the reason the inquest was ordered. That is just a mystery to me when you lose seven kids and a teacher on a school trip – it is just a no-brainer to call an inquest.”
Acevedo states in the book that the drive to have an inquest and get answers wasn’t about trying to get a monetary settlement or sending someone to jail.
“Those things wouldn’t bring my child back,” she said. “What I wanted was some accountability because up to that point my son had been killed and nothing had been done. It was a big insult.”
Foot said he realizes there are conflicting opinions in New Brunswick about the Van Angels campaign and the relentless drive of the mothers to get answers.
He said some people started to view them as troublemakers, especially in Bathurst. But he said they also have enjoyed the support of many people and were able to garner thousands of signatures on petitions.
“They were right in their campaign and they were right to ask the questions they asked and they were right to have the expectation that an inquest would be carried out and that the loss of these boys would produce some kind of introspection and examination of the status quo,” Foot said.
“They were right to embark on this crusade. But I understand how a lot of New Brunswickers got tired of these women. They were in the news all the time, constantly asking the same questions. … I understand that. But just because you are tired of hearing about an issue doesn’t mean the people out there pushing the issue shouldn’t continue.”
Driven goes on sale in New Brunswick on Tuesday.
CBC Moncton Information Morning:
http://www.cbc.ca/informationmorningmoncton/2013/10/21/bathurst-tragedy-book/
Wednesday, October 16, 2013
MAX 104.9 FM: Review of "Driven" by Jeff Long
Driven is a new book written by Halifax based freelance writer Richard Foot. Normally that wouldn't be much of an opening statement but considering the subject involves the Bathurst Boys In Red tragedy & it's crusade for change- then it may just be something that will interest quite a few in our community. The book ( published by Goose Lane Editions) tells the tragic story of that terrible night in Jan 2008- it's aftermath & fallout from the tragedy.
Click here to read original article on Max 104.9 FM on line blog
The main focus is on two mothers Isabelle Hains & Ana Acevedo & their efforts to bring accountibilty for their deceased sons Daniel & Javier along with the other 5 boys from the BHS Phantoms basketball team Justin Cormier, Nathan Cleland, Nick Quinn, Codey Branch & Nick Kelly whose mother Marcella would later join Isabelle & Ana in their fight for justice with the provincial government.
The book is direct & hard hitting & no doubt will ruffle a few feathers in town. It deals mainly with the highs & lows the mother's experienced in their efforts to ban 15 passenger seat vans, making sure all tires on transport vehicles are winter & along the way dealing with lots & lots of red tape from all levels of government & school officials. It is almost mind boggling what these women went through to get their message heard to the appropriate officials- and even though they didn't succeed in everything they wanted- there is no denying the amount of change they have brought forth for the better.
As the book's author Foot points out everyone grieves in different ways- some of the boys parents chose not to get invlolved with the other mothers in their crusade but that doesn't mean they were not & are still not hurting. And just the same Isabelle, Ana & Marcella had every right to question a system that was clearly flawed on so many levels. A system that failed their sons & a coaches wife.
And their heroic efforts continue to this day- in the name of their much loved sons.
'Driven- How The Bathurst Tragedy Ignited A Crusade For Change' goes on sale October 22nd.
Click here to read original article on Max 104.9 FM on line blog
The main focus is on two mothers Isabelle Hains & Ana Acevedo & their efforts to bring accountibilty for their deceased sons Daniel & Javier along with the other 5 boys from the BHS Phantoms basketball team Justin Cormier, Nathan Cleland, Nick Quinn, Codey Branch & Nick Kelly whose mother Marcella would later join Isabelle & Ana in their fight for justice with the provincial government.
The book is direct & hard hitting & no doubt will ruffle a few feathers in town. It deals mainly with the highs & lows the mother's experienced in their efforts to ban 15 passenger seat vans, making sure all tires on transport vehicles are winter & along the way dealing with lots & lots of red tape from all levels of government & school officials. It is almost mind boggling what these women went through to get their message heard to the appropriate officials- and even though they didn't succeed in everything they wanted- there is no denying the amount of change they have brought forth for the better.
As the book's author Foot points out everyone grieves in different ways- some of the boys parents chose not to get invlolved with the other mothers in their crusade but that doesn't mean they were not & are still not hurting. And just the same Isabelle, Ana & Marcella had every right to question a system that was clearly flawed on so many levels. A system that failed their sons & a coaches wife.
And their heroic efforts continue to this day- in the name of their much loved sons.
'Driven- How The Bathurst Tragedy Ignited A Crusade For Change' goes on sale October 22nd.
Sunday, October 13, 2013
MacLeans Magazine: How the mothers of Bathurst’s ‘Boys in Red’ took on the provinc
An exclusive excerpt from Driven: How the Bathurst Tragedy Ignited a Crusade for Change
In the early hours of Jan. 12, 2008, on a snowy stretch of highway in New Brunswick, seven members of the Bathurst High School basketball team and their coach’s wife died when their school van collided with a tractor-trailer. In Driven: How the Bathurst Tragedy Ignited a Crusade for Change, author Richard Foot traces the story of the emotional campaign waged by some of the dead boys’ mothers to push the provincial government into holding an inquest. Among that inquest’s eventual recommendations was that the type of van involved in the accident should be banned for student travel, and that replacement minibuses must be equipped with winter tires.
However, five months after the end of the inquest, the mothers were shocked to discover that the replacement fleet of multi-function activity buses (MFABs) would only have winter tires on the rear wheels; the province had opted to use all-season tires on the front. After speaking with experts at tire companies, rubber manufacturers and mechanics, the women learned that mixing tire types posed a safety risk. The women demanded the government enlist Transport Canada to carry out winter-road tests—something New Brunswick officials were dragging their heels on. In this excerpt, Foot follows the women as they struggle to arrange their own test to prove to the province its tire policy was dangerous.
Exclusive Excerpt
Frustrated by the impasse, and worried that winter was passing by and, along with it, the window of opportunity to conduct new tire testing in freezing conditions, John Mahler, a Toronto Star automotive columnist who’d been in close contact with the women, pitched a new solution. “Let’s do our own test,” he suggested to two of the mothers, Isabelle Hains and Marcella Kelly. Mahler knew the engineers at the companies that owned professional test tracks. Perhaps they could be persuaded to do a favour for the Bathurst moms?
One of the companies Mahler called was Continental, a huge auto-supplies multinational headquartered in Germany, with a state-of-the-art outdoor test track located in northern Michigan. Mahler explained the New Brunswick issue to a testing engineer with Continental, who then discussed the matter with Joerg Burfien, the company’s director of research and development for the Americas. Burfien, appalled by New Brunswick’s policy, was eager to help.
Continental agreed to do the test at no charge, as long as Mahler, or the Bathurst mothers, could come up with a multi-function activity bus and get the vehicle to Michigan. In Bathurst, Isabelle and Marcella asked the provincial government to send one of its MFABs to Michigan for the test, but the province just stonewalled. Valerie Kilfoil, at the Education Department, said it would take several weeks for their request to work its way through the government. She said the mothers should consider renting their own vehicle for their test.
Isabelle then pinned her hopes on Ron Campbell, a salesman with Girardin Minibus, a Quebec company that builds MFABs just like the one they needed. Campbell had closely followed news of the Bathurst tragedy and had come to know Isabelle in the wake of the crash. She had hoped he might be able to lend the mothers an MFAB to drive to Michigan, but Campbell couldn’t pull it off with his company. Girardin was willing to loan a new minibus for the test, but it didn’t want the vehicle driven all the way to Michigan, accumulating mileage. It would only provide a minibus if Mahler or the mothers could find a way to transport it there on a truck or train, a costly proposition.
By now it was January, the winter was ticking by, and Mahler, Isabelle and Marcella were getting desperate. The government continued to insist it was negotiating with Transport Canada for its own test. But there were no details on when that might happen.
Then a news story broke that would have a profound impact on the tire campaign. A staff lawyer for Loblaw Companies, the grocery chain whose truck had collided with the Bathurst High School van, had filed a lawsuit in the New Brunswick courts in December against Wayne Lord, the basketball coach who was driving on the night of the tragedy, and Bathurst Van Inc., the teacher-led organization that owned the white van. The Loblaw lawyer, knowing the law but lacking in common sense, was suing Lord, who’d lost his own wife in the crash, and school officials, to recoup the $41,000 his company had spent towing their tractor-trailer from the crash site and emptying its fuel tanks. The news sparked outrage in Bathurst and across New Brunswick, and many residents vowed to boycott the company’s stores.
Once news of the lawsuit reached Loblaw’s executive suite, the claim was immediately withdrawn. Eager to repair its reputation in New Brunswick, Loblaw asked the City of Bathurst if the company could help the community honour the “Boys in Red,” perhaps by donating money for a new monument in their memory. That same morning, Melynda Jarratt, a friend and supporter of the mothers, contacted Loblaw’s head office in Brampton, Ont., and asked for Inge van den Berg, the vice-president of corporate affairs. “I told her who I was, and said we needed an MFAB to complete the studies that were being offered by Continental Tires. I said the testing was not going to happen if we could not get a bus.” It was probably a long shot, but Melynda figured there was a chance Loblaw might be willing to pay the costs of renting a minibus and transporting it to Michigan. She was wrong.
“How much does a bus cost?” asked van den Berg. Melynda paused. A new minibus? “About $80,000,” she said. “Then we’ll just buy one,” said van den Berg, without hesitation.
Melynda couldn’t believe what she was hearing. She quickly informed Isabelle and Marcella of the good news, and told them to expect a phone call from Loblaw. Within hours, Allan Leighton, then the president and deputy chairman of Canada’s largest grocery store chain, was phoning Isabelle in her kitchen in Bathurst to express his condolences and to place his company’s resources at her disposal. It was all settled by the end of the day. After hearing that Loblaw was on board, Campbell said there was no need for the company to actually buy an MFAB. Girardin would loan the mothers a minibus, as long as Loblaw could transport it to and from Michigan on one of its tractor-trailers. He called Isabelle that afternoon to explain what had been decided. That conversation was quickly followed by a phone call from a Loblaw truck driver, who told Isabelle he’d received clear instructions to get the Girardin minibus to Michigan. Isabelle and the minibus, he said, were his top priority for the next few weeks.
Suddenly, Isabelle was awash in emotions she hadn’t experienced in years. She had been battling the government and butting heads with the establishment in her city and province for so long, it was hard to get used to the rather exhilarating notion that people with money and influence were now actively supporting her. No longer were she and her small band of women standing alone against the world of power. They had found potent allies who wanted them to succeed. “People were coming into our lives at this point, and all they wanted to do was help. It was like an army of angels.”
A few weeks later, Isabelle, Marcella and a third grieving mother, Ana Acevedo, flew with Melynda to Sault Ste. Marie, Ont., where they rented a car, drove across the border to Michigan and checked into their motel near the Continental Tires facility. John Mahler, driving down from Toronto, was due to meet them at the motel later that day, along with a professional videographer Isabelle had hired to document the test, which was scheduled for the next morning.
The women were just settling into their rooms when Melynda’s cellphone rang. A reporter from the Telegraph-Journal was calling with news from New Brunswick. The government had announced that morning that Transport Canada had quietly conducted a minibus test for the province, and the results proved what the women had been arguing for months: Winter tires on all wheels gave better performance than a mix of winters and all-seasons. The province was now promising to equip its fleet of MFABs with full sets of winter tires. “What,” the reporter asked, “did the moms have to say to that?”
Melynda didn’t know what to say. She was flabbergasted. The three mothers were also stunned. Within minutes, the four women were inundated with similar calls and emails from the media, all wanting to hear the mothers’ reaction to the province’s surprise announcement, on the very cusp of the Michigan test.
It appeared the women had won a momentous victory. It was an infuriating victory—with the government declaring, the day before their long-awaited Michigan test, that it now agreed with their position on tires—but it was a victory nonetheless.
“They caved under public opinion,” the moms said. “It’s sleazy as hell.”
The women had won their showdown with the government and achieved their policy goal. But what now? Should they go ahead with the Continental Tires test? What if that test produced an unfavourable result?
Mahler and the engineers at Continental urged the mothers to press on. “Of course, you’re going to do the test,” Mahler said. “We know the test is going to prove that winter tires [on all wheels] are the best. We’re not stopping, the show must go on.”
Excerpted from Driven: How the Bathurst Tragedy Ignited a Crusade for Change, on sale Oct. 22. Copyright 2013 Richard Foot. Published with permission of Goose Lane Editions.
Saturday, October 12, 2013
KXAN NBC In Depth Investigative: 15-passenger vans come with warnings Many warnings for vans like one in fatal accident
By Chris Sadeghi
Updated: Friday, October 11, 2013, 6:38 PM CDT
Published: Friday, October 11, 2013, 5:40 PM CDT
PFLUGERVILLE (KXAN) - Thursday’s rollover accident in Pflugerville involved a vehicle and a stretch of highway that both have been subject to safety concerns.
To read original article on KXAN News website, click here
Three members of a Killeen Church were killed while riding in a large style passenger van on the 80 mph stretch of highway 130.
Police believe the van had a tire blowout before rolling over several times into the median. A re-creation of the accident is underway, but it is currently unknown how fast the van was traveling or if speed was a factor in the blowout.
Still, passenger vans like the one used by so many church organizations have garnered plenty of red tape due to safety concerns.
The National Highway Traffic and Safety Administration has also recommended not using 15-passenger vans to transport children and federal law prevents schools from buying new vans for school transportation.
“Being a top-heavy van tends to make them flip and turn,” said David Buratti with Reddy Automotive. Keeping tall vehicles upright requires a strong base which in this case means strong tires.
“With these vans, you want to use a 10-ply tire because it is such a heavy vehicle.”
While similar passenger vans have developed a bad reputation for accidents, Pflugerville Police would not say the same for the speedy highway 130.
Since the 80 mph limit was implemented in 2012, Pflugerville PD said there has been nothing to indicate either the limit or the design of the highway is leading to more accidents.
Highway 130 also features a stretch where the speed limit is 85 mph, the fastest in the country.
KVUE News: Church: 3 Killeen pastors killed in SH 130 crash
PFLUGERVILLE, Texas -- Police say three people have died in a Pflugerville crash.
It happened in the 19400 block of State Highway 130 around 6:30 p.m. Thursday.
According to police a van traveling northbound blew a tire, causing the driver to lose control and crash. Witnesses attempted to help the victims get out, but they were unsuccessful.
A female passenger who was pinned in the vehicle died on the scene. A man police believe to be about 65 years old was thrown from the vehicle and also died.
The driver of the van, a man police believe to be in his 70s, was taken to a Round Rock hospital by EMS with critical injuries. He later passed away.
According to the website of Grace Christian Center in Killeen, the three victims were pastors. The wife of the driver said her husband was picking up the other two people, a wife and husband, from the airport and taking them home.
The website's front page had this statement up Friday morning:
Dear Family of Grace,
It is with the deepest sorrow that we have to announce the passing of Pastors Terry, Jan and Pastor Steve. They died in a traffic accident on the way back from the airport. Friday evening from 7-9 p.m. we will have the church open for a time of prayer, all other groups and events are cancelled. Dr. Earl Johnson is flying in to do Sunday services. We ask that you keep both families in prayer during this difficult time. We will update you all as more information on memorial services is available.
In Christ
The Pastoral Staff
Police have not confirmed the identities of the victims.
Investigators shut down all lanes of SH 130 from Gattis School Road to Pecan due to a large debris field and the ongoing accident investigation. Police say all lanes have since reopened.
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