Local News
Gas truck crashes at Dead Man's Corner in South Dallas, damaging overpass
12:00 AM CDT on Monday, October 13, 2008
One of the region's most dangerous highway curves – a bend on U.S. Highway 175 just south of downtown Dallas known as Dead Man's Corner – might have at last seen one crash too many.
A tanker truck hauling thousands of gallons of fuel slammed into a retaining wall at the poorly designed curve on Sunday, igniting a spectacular fire that ruined part of a busy highway overpass.
The crash occurred where southbound U.S. Highway 175 breaks away from State Highway 310 and curves sharply to the east – an almost 90-degree turn. Dead Man's Corner has served as a flashpoint in South Dallas, where it has come to symbolize the impoverished area's neglect.
"You'd never design it like that now," said Bill Hale, district engineer for the Texas Department of Transportation.
Outbound lanes at the curve are expected to be closed this morning. The southbound Highway 310 overpass will be closed indefinitely, and officials said Sunday that the bridge and curve need rebuilding.
The truck driver, who told authorities that one of his tires blew, suffered minor injuries. No one else was injured in the crash, which sent out huge plumes of black smoke that were seen for miles.
Witnesses described a dramatic scene following the crash about 5 p.m. Sunday, including a series of loud explosions as a billowing cloud of black smoke and flames cast a shadow over the city.
Dallas Mayor Tom Leppert said late Sunday that it was too early to begin discussing whether crews will fix Dead Man's Corner sooner rather than later. When asked, he said that state transportation officials should at least examine the curve.
"It's something to look at, but it's premature to make a decision at this point," he said.
Mr. Hale said improvements at the curve are planned as part of the construction of the billion-dollar Trinity Parkway project, slated for completion sometime in the next decade.
He said the state would pursue a "quick fix" for the damaged bridge, but that the notorious curve would remain until the Trinity project is built.
"Even if we don't ever build the Trinity, we're going to have to go in there and fix that interchange," he said. "It's substandard. It's always been a bad way to end a freeway."
Crash statistics were not available Sunday. But locals have said they witness accidents regularly at the curve, while transportation officials have proclaimed the bend a "safety nightmare."
In 1990, two people died and a third was seriously hurt when a stolen vehicle crashed following a police chase. A pedestrian was struck and killed there in 1994.
A truck overturned near the curve in 1997, causing a chain-reaction crash that killed one driver and injured four children who were thrown from a vehicle. Another person died in a 2003 crash.
On Sunday, John Chiles said he was riding in a friend's Chevrolet Blazer on a side street near the curve when they saw the accident unfold. He said he heard a loud screeching noise followed by a boom as the tanker rolled onto its side.
The driver emerged, dazed, from the overturned truck.
"He started staggering away from the truck, and the truck ignited," Mr. Chiles said. "You could see the glow underneath the truck."
An explosion appeared to pull the driver back toward the truck, Mr. Chiles said. The driver was ultimately able to get away. Mr. Chiles said he helped pull the man into the back of his friend's truck until paramedics arrived.
The driver suffered cuts and bruises and seemed groggy, but he was able to call his mother from another witness's cellphone to tell her he was OK, Mr. Chiles said.
"God was with him," Mr. Chiles said. "This was his day."
tkim@dallasnews.com;
sgoldstein@dallasnews.com
Staff writer Michael A. Lindenberger contributed to this report.
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