Three injured in fiery crash Accident slows traffic along Interstate 65 Jimmy Simms A fiery three-vehicle crash involving an 18-wheeler injured three people and snarled northbound traffic on I-65 for miles Monday. Michael Cammon, 41, of Cullman, and his passenger, William Malcolm, 65, of Hanceville, were injured when their 1997 Dodge pickup was struck from the rear by an 18-wheeler while they were parked in the emergency northbound lane of I-65 near the 295 mile marker, according to eyewitnesses. The driver of the 1999 International, Craig Parent, 39, of Fraser, Minn., was also injured in the accident, state troopers said. Troopers said Cammon and Parent were wearing their seat belts, but that Malcolm was not. Questioned at the scene about the accident, Parent had no comment. A third vehicle, a 1987 Ford, that was parked just ahead of the Cammon truck, was also struck by the tractor-trailer rig, but that car was not occupied, troopers said. According to eye witnesses, the impact of the 18-wheeler striking the pickup truck was so severe that the vehicle literally broke in two with the cab being separated from the bed of the truck. The truck’s gas tank also exploded, covering the vehicle in fuel and flames. Truck drivers Robert Allen of Gardendale and Barry Booker of Milwaukee, Wis., were among the first individuals to stop and attempt to assist Malcolm, who was trapped inside the burning truck. Witnesses said the driver, Cammon, jumped out of the truck after the collision, staggered across the highway and collapsed in the median. “I pulled my truck over and stopped just past the 18-wheeler on the right shoulder. I stopped at the first car, which was pinned underneath the front bumper of the truck and saw there was no one inside it. I then glanced up and saw that the truck driver was apparently all right and then I heard somebody yelling that there was someone still in the pickup truck, which was on fire,” Booker said. When Booker arrived at the pickup truck, or what was left of it after the entire bed of the truck had been torn away, he said another man was already attempting to open the passenger door, which was wedged shut by the impact. “A bunch of guys, most of them truckers who stopped, ran up with fire extinguishers and began dousing the fire to keep it cool while emergency help was on the way,” said Allen, a trucker from Gardendale. “This one man came up with a concrete saw and began sawing away at the top of the door. Eventually they were able to pull the man out through the window of the truck.” Both Allen and Booker said they could tell the man had sustained some serious injuries. “He had bad burns to both legs and his left arm. He had a big laceration on his left thigh,” Booker said. “Drivers brought water and rags to try and cool him down. A woman kept talking to him. She must have been a nurse because she was telling him his pulse was good and strong and he was going to be OK. I heard him tell her he was a diabetic and I think the fear was he might go into diabetic shock.” Cullman Emergency Medical Services arrived on the scene and began treating the injured. AirEvac was called to the scene and transported Malcolm to UAB Hospital in Birmingham where he was listed in good condition. Cammon and Parent were transported to hospitals in Cullman. Their conditions, which were believed not to be serious, were unavailable. Allen, a driver for nine years, and Booker a truck driver for 10 years, both said they had never witnessed an accident that severe before. “In 10 years of driving a truck I’ve never seen anything like that before and it happened right in front of me,” Booker said. “I could tell the driver of the 18-wheeler was having some sort of problem. I watched him go off the edge of the road a couple of times prior to hitting the pickup truck. It just demolished it — spun it around like a top and then went on and struck the other car. I had to pull to the left to avoid getting involved myself.” “I saw the 18-wheeler run off the shoulder of the road twice prior to hitting the truck and it just broke it in half,” Allen said. “I had never seen anything like that before. And then people started stopping and other truckers stopped and began running up to help this guy with his truck on fire. I began running back up the interstate asking truckers to bring their fire extinguishers and they did. It was amazing no one was killed. I know the one guy is hurt really bad, but I’m hoping he’s going to make it.”
The PH Lawfirm represents plaintiffs in wrongful death and catastrophic injury cases in Washington and across the United States according to the multijurisdictional practice and pro hac vice rules in each state. James Harris focuses on cases involving car accidents, commercial vehicle accidents, and truck accidents (semi truck, tractor trailor, big rig truck, 18 wheeler, log trucks). James Harris has successfully handled thousands of personal injury claims and has obtained numerous outstanding settlements and verdicts in complex injury and wrongful death cases.
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