Big rig, pickup collide on Highway 71

TONY BROWN/DAILY FORUM
Nodaway County Sheriff Darren White talks on his cell phone while working an accident between a pickup truck and an 18-wheeler Tuesday morning at the intersection of Business 71 and the Highway 71 bypass north of Maryville.

A Maryville man escaped serious injury Tuesday morning when his pickup truck collided with an 18-wheeler at the intersection of Business 71 and the Highway 71 bypass north of Maryville.

According to reports, a 2008 Kenworth tractor-trailer driven by Ronald J. Brazda, 51, of Weston, Nebraska, was southbound on the bypass when a northbound 1999 Toyota Tacoma pickup driven by Wayne A. Spire, 51, Maryville, attempted to move onto the highway from the controlled intersection.

The front driver’s side of the pickup struck the passenger side of the 18-wheeler, puncturing a fuel tank, which spewed diesel fuel across both lanes of the highway.

Spire suffered minor injuries and was taken by ambulance to St. Francis Hospital & Health Services in Maryville. Brazda was uninjured. Both men were wearing seat belts.

The pickup was totaled and towed from the scene. The tractor-trailer sustained only minor damage but also had to be pulled away by a wrecker.

Firefighters from Polk Township/Maryville Public Safety responded in a pumper truck and poured several bags of absorbent granules across the pavement in order to contain the fuel spill.

Assisting Missouri State Highway Patrol Cpl. B.E. Maudlin in working the accident were the Nodaway County Sheriff’s Department and the Missouri Department of Transportation. The mishap occurred at 9:33 a.m.

TONY BROWN/DAILY FORUM
Polk Township and Maryville Public Safety firefighters poured absorbent granules over spilled diesel fuel Tuesday morning after a collision between a pickup truck and an 18-wheeler ruptured the highway tractor’s passenger-side fuel tank.