Construction worker killed on the turnpike

Digest LAUDERHILL Construction worker killed on the turnpike A construction worker died on Florida's Turnpike Thurs­day after he was struck by a traffic roller, according to the Florida Highway Patrol. It happened shortly after 3:15 p.m. on the right shoulder of the northbound lanes just north of Oakland Park Boulevard, FHP said. Construction workers were in the area as part of the project to widen the turnpike in Broward County Junior St. Auben Pardo, 40, was working in the const ruc­tion zone when a traffic roller backed up and hit him, FHP said. Pardo died at the scene. The traffic roller's operator was identified by FHP as Joey Sneed, 38, of Lauderhill. What caused the traffic roller to strike Pardo was still under investigation Thursday FHP said charges were pending. —The Miami Herald Sun Sentinel Broward County March 25, 2011

Tractor trailer crash causes traffic delays on Turnpike

Fire rescue workers have cleaned up a fuel spill as a result of a crash involving three tractor-trailers and one car this morning in the southbound lanes of Florida's Turnpike near PGA Boulevard. Lanes in both directions are now open after being closed for hours, according to Palm Beach Gardens Fire Rescue officials. It's the second time in a week that area of the turnpike has been shut down due to a major accident early in the morning. Last week, a tractor trailor was hit by a dump truck and caught on fire, leaving one the drivers with third-degree burns and shutting down the turnpike in either direction well into the afternoon rush hour. Today, around 5:30 a.m., a fuel tank broke off one of the tractor-trailer trucks during the collision spilling about 50 gallons of fuel onto both northbound and southbound lanes of the turnpike. However the spill in the northbound lanes was contained to the shoulder. Florida Highway Patrol Lt. Tim Frith said a series of events unfolded when a truck pulled over on the right southbound shoulder entered the right travel lane in the path of an oncoming UPS truck. The collision broke free a fuel tank on the UPS truck, which then sat in the southbound lanes. Moments later, a red Honda Civic hit the tank and sent it flying into the northbound lanes. A third truck, traveling northbound, tried to avoid the tank and jackknifed. Palm Beach Gardens Fire Rescue Chief Keith Bryer said that although one of the trucks had a "corrosive" placard, it doesn't seem to have spilled onto the roadway. The driver of one of the trucks had to be extricated, as the Trauma Hawk chopper rescue team remained on stand by, but the driver was ultimately transported via ground, Bryer said. One driver was taken to St. Mary's Medical Center in West Palm Beach and the other to Palm Beach Gardens Medical Center. There was no immediate information available on their conditions. for more information please visit: http://www.miamiherald.com/2011/03/30/2141183/tractor-trailer-crash-causes-traffic.html

"Construction worker hit, killed by traffic roller while working on Turnpike"

A construction worker died on Florida's Turnpike Thursday after he was struck by a traffic roller, according to the Florida Highway Patrol. It happened shortly after 3:15 p.m. on the right shoulder of the northbound lanes just north of Oakland Park Boulevard, FHP said. Construction workers were in the area as part of the project to widen the turnpike in Broward County. Junior St. Auben Pardo, 40, was working in the construction zone when a traffic roller backed up and hit him, FHP said. Pardo died at the scene. The traffic roller's operator was identified by FHP as Joey Sneed, 38, of Lauderhill. What caused the traffic roller to strike Pardo was still under investigation Thursday. FHP said charges were pending. The workers were there as part of the ongoing project to widen the turnpike in Broward County, turnpike spokeswoman Nichole Kalil said. The contractor for the project is Russell Engineering. for more information please visit: http://articles.sun-sentinel.com/2011-03-24/news/fl-turnpike-worker-killed-20110324_1_turnpike-spokeswoman-fhp-northbound-lanes

"Trucks collide; driver critically hurt"

A fiery collision of two trucks on Florida's Turnpike early Wednesday left one of the drivers in critical condition with third-degree burns over at least 50 percent of his body.
Marquis Adams, 28, of Miami Gardens was flown to St. Mary's Medical Center in West Palm Beach and later transferred to Jackson Memorial Hospital's burn unit in Miami, said Lt. Tim Frith, spokesman for the Florida Highway Patrol.
The second driver, John Massey, 61, of Orlando, was taken to Palm Beach Gardens Medical Center with minor injuries, Frith said.
The Florida Highway Patrol was treating the investigation as a traffic homicide "because of the severity of the injuries" of the burned driver, Frith said.
When rescue workers responded to the crash at 4:47 a.m., both trucks were engulfed in flames, according to Palm Beach County Fire-Rescue Capt. Don DeLucia.
Investigators determined that the accident occurred at the end of a work shift when Massey, driving a dump truck that trailed a sweeper that cleans debris off the roadway, merged with the sweeper onto the southbound lanes to head home.
Adams, driving a tractor-trailer, also was heading south in the right lane and crashed into the back of Massey's truck, Frith said. The dump truck's signal lights were on, he said.
"There was an inability of the semi driver to identify the slower-moving vehicles," Frith said. "The fire started in the engine compartment and spread through the load of the truck."
The sweeper driver said he didn't know exactly what happened. He said he heard a "big boom" and turned to see a fire.
DeLucia said that a caller reported to dispatchers that Adams jumped out of his truck with his legs on fire and Massey doused the flames with an extinguisher, but Frith could not confirm those details.
The blaze charred one trailer Adams was hauling and caused "heavy structural damage" to the road, Frith said.
Southbound lanes reopened around 4 p.m. after crews ripped out the damaged asphalt and replaced it. Northbound lanes reopened around9:30 a.m.
Charges are pending, Frith said.


for more information please visit: http://www.fireengineering.com/index/articles/Wire_News_Display.1385420880.html