The driver of a tractor-trailer that lost its brakes while traveling Westbound on Washington Pike was pronounced dead at the scene of the crash Friday, July 18.
Police investigating the accident say that brake failure was the cause of the crash and have confirmed the name of the driver, 62-year-old Gerald Davis Jr.
Wellsburg Police Chief Mike Allman confirmed that Davis possessed a Texas commercial driver’s license.
“Initial indications are he lost his brakes on Washington Pike (WV State Route 27) coming downhill toward (WV) Route 2,” Allman said.
“The vehicle behind him informed him that his brakes were smokey. Right after that, he notified that he had lost his brakes and lost it. He called ahead to the vehicle in front, advised her to get out of the way. She pulled over on 10th Street, not at the intersection, but right next to a building, and he went straight through,” said Allman.
Brooke County officials reported the driver was pronounced dead after being extricated by divers from his cab which, with its trailer and load, sunk beneath the river’s surface near 10th Street.
Allman said a special permit allowed the truck to weigh 193,000 pounds and stand 15 feet high.
He confirmed the weight and height are above the usual limits and the reason the truck was accompanied by escort vehicles.
Allman said an escort driver behind the truck said he radioed Davis to tell him smoke was emanating from it, while the driver of the escort vehicle in front pulled to the side and away from the truck’s path.
He said the truck continued at a high rate of speed through the intersections of Route 2 and Charles and Main streets.
“He managed to control it through those intersections,” said Allman, who noted it’s fortunate there were no vehicles or pedestrians directly in the truck’s path.
He said the truck continued down the access road north of the rear parking lot of the Brooke County Public Library before veering into the river.
Library staff said the truck struck a tree along the river’s bank before it landed in the water.
“I remember walking outside it was just an army of cops and ambulances. Some of the trees that were over there were just plowed through because he obviously chose not to hit my house, which obviously I am thankful for,” said Matthias Morgan, whose backyard overlooks the crash site. “I saw the aftermath. I saw them pull the truck out of the river. I saw all of the witnesses just crying and emotional. I wish something like this wouldn’t have happened…”
Greg Moore, Brooke County director of emergency management, said about a dozen divers from Weirton, Wheeling, North Strabane Township, PA, and the West Virginia Division of Natural Resources were involved in the rescue effort. Multiple police, fire and emergency medical departments also were at the scene of the accident, which occurred at about 9:14 a.m.
Allman said the the truck was carrying materials and equipment from a natural gas operation in Smithton, PA, and was bound for St. Johns Road, Colliers.
Gladiator Energy, the truck’s owner, arranged for the truck to be towed from the river on Saturday morning.