A 17-year-old Ohio girl made a shocking confession after a tanker truck accident in Illinois spilled a toxic chemical, killing five people.
In an interview with state police, published by the National Transportation Safety Boardthe girl claimed to have had “no idea” she was involved in the accident and said: “Yes, it’s totally my fault.”
The tanker truck was carrying a dangerous chemical: caustic anhydrous ammonia. Upon impact, the tank punctured and spilled about half of the 7,500-gallon cargo at 8:40 p.m. on September 29, 2023.
Dashcam footage showed the terrifying moment the 17-year-old driver nearly had a head-on collision with a truck coming from the opposite side of the road.
The truck driver, in an effort to let the minivan pass without crashing, swerved to the right and went off the road into a ditch.
The Bryan family died, Kenneth, 34, Walker, 10, and Rosie, 7, at their home near the crash site. A GoFundMe was created for mother and wife, Macy Bryan, raising more than $46,000
The crash killed five people, including father Kenneth Bryan, 34, and his two children, Rosie, 7, and Walker, 10, at their nearby home.
Three people, who had stopped at the scene of the accident, were also hospitalized after being exposed to the chemical and 500 people were evacuated for hours after the accident.
CBSChicago reported that the Effingham County Coroner identified Bryan and his children, as well as the two remaining victims, Danny Smith, 67, and Vasile Cricovan, 31.
Dashboard camera footage showed the 17-year-old driving the minivan her mother and brother were traveling in and passing the tanker truck on a two-lane US 40 in Illinois.
The footage then showed the terrifying moment the minivan nearly collided head-on with another truck approaching from the opposite direction.
When asked about passing a vehicle in front of her, she said, “Well, I was going pretty fast.” So I guess yeah, pretty scary… I couldn’t say anything for sure. It was dark. I just saw some headlights.
The driver of the tanker, who survived, recognized the danger and turned to the right allowing the minivan to pass, but then turned into a ditch on the side of the road.
The girl claimed in her interview that she had “no idea” that the truck had rolled over behind her and that she “just happily went my way.”
After learning about dash cam footage that revealed what caused the truck to go off the road, he said, “I mean, you know what? I can totally imagine this being my mistake…”
He added: “But now I really feel like shit, right, because I basically killed five people.” I mean, I don’t know what happened to the truck driver, right? But it happened because I passed it, right? Did he startle or something?
The 17-year-old driver said she had “no idea” what had caused the truck behind her to go off the road.
Upon learning that she had caused the accident, the 17-year-old said: ‘Yes. Oh my god. Yes, totally bad. Wow.’
Responders to the site included local police and firefighters, the Illinois Emergency Management Agency and the Office of Homeland Security, as well as the U.S. EPA.
They then asked her if she knew if that part of the road was a no-passing zone, to which she said she always waits to pass in the correct areas of the road.
The police showed him the dash cam footage and told him, ‘This is Route 40. There’s the no-passing zone sign. Do you see that?
Admitting his mistake, he said: ‘Yes. Oh my god. Yes, totally bad. Wow.’
The police officer offered to look at the footage again and she said, “No, it’s not necessary.” It was totally my fault… Honestly, I’ve had times in the past where I just don’t use good judgment in judging distances and have enough time for something.’
Reports revealed that she needed contact lenses or glasses for myopia and was due to have an eye doctor appointment the day after the interview, October 4, 2023.
He added: “I’m not surprised, but obviously the consequences of this are no joke.”
The girl also admitted in the interview to hitting another motorcycle driver off the road in North Carolina.
The tanker truck was carrying a highly dangerous chemical called anhydrous caustic ammonia.
Upon impact, the tank was punctured and about half of the 7,500 gallons spilled.
The driver said: “I’m not surprised, but obviously the consequences of this are no joke.”
CBSChicago reported that in addition to the NTSB and the Illinois State Police, the Illinois EPA, the Illinois Emergency Management Agency and the Office of Homeland Security, the Illinois Department of Transportation, local police and fire, and the EPA The US responded to the scene.
Effingham County Sheriff Paul Kuhns said at a news conference that emergency crews worked overnight Saturday at the scene, and a large plume of the leak was seen rising into the sky, DailyMail.com reported.
WICS reported that seven lawsuits were filed earlier this year against Prairieland Transport, the tanker truck driver, and the then-17-year-old driver.
Of the six, four were reported to have come forward on behalf of the deceased and two on behalf of the injured.
The lawsuits range from charges of negligence, wrongful death to wanton conduct, the outlet reported.
In the interview, she also stated, “I killed five people and now I,” yes, of course I would do it differently. Are you kidding me?’
Fundraisers were organized for families affected by the spill. Including a GoFundMe for Macy Bryan, who lost her husband and two children, raising more than $46,000.