A tanker truck carrying jet fuel crashed on I-29 two miles north of Corning, Missouri, October 14, closing the interstate for four hours, causing a traffic jam throughout Holt and Atchison counties, creating a disaster area with debris and leaking jet fuel at the original crash site, and precipitating another vehicle crash.
Jet fuel pours onto the grass from a damaged tanker following a wreck on the interstate.
What could have proven to be a very deadly accident, but thankfully was not, created quite a traffic jam in Atchison and Holt counties October 14, 2022. At 9:55 a.m., a 2016 Volvo tanker truck carrying jet fuel was heading northbound on I-29 at the 101.8 mile-marker, two miles north of Corning, Missouri, when the truck traveled off the east side of the roadway. The vehicle began skidding and overturned. The towed tanker unit detached and both the cab and tanker came to rest off the east side of the roadway. The overturned tanker leaked its jet fuel load onto the grass beside the roadway.
The driver, Joseph Ngen-dahimana, 49, of Kansas City, Missouri, who was wearing a seat belt, suffered serious injuries and was transported by an Atchison-Holt ambulance to Mosaic Life Care in St. Joseph, Missouri. The 2016 Volvo was totaled and towed from the scene by All City Tow and Double M Towing. The accident was investigated by Missouri State Highway Patrol Cpl. T.L. Shupe, who was assisted by Lt. S.P. Skoglund, Sgt. K.F. Jeffers, Sgt. S.M. Hux, Cpl. K.L. Ebersold, Cpl. B.E. Maudlin, Trooper A.J. Kempa, Chief CVO K.L. Shewey, CVO J.E. Lawrence, the Atchison County Sheriff’s Office, Holt County Sheriff’s Office, and Atchison-Holt Ambulance Service.
Due to the hazardous nature of the material being spilled, as well as the debris on the roadway, the interstate was closed for four hours and traffic was diverted at the Craig, Missouri, exit in Holt County and the Rock Port, Missouri, exit in Atchison County. This had the flow of traffic traveling along Hwy. 59 and Hwy. 136 around the crash scene. There was so much traffic backed up that vehicles were driving bumper to bumper through the 20-30 mile detour. Routes from one town to the next that would usually take 10 minutes or less were taking 45 minutes to more than an hour.
Because of the traffic jam and driver inattention, another crash occurred, this time at the 112 mile-marker on southbound I-29, two miles north of Rock Port, at 11:30 a.m. A 2007 Ford Escape, driven by Kristen E. Kalbfleisch, 29, of Lincoln, Nebraska, was slowing down upon approaching the detour while driving southbound when it was hit from behind by a 2019 Mack Truck Anthem, driven by Harjinder S. Sangha, 43, of Surrey, British Columbia, Canada. The Ford began to skid and traveled off the west side of the roadway, overturning, and coming to rest on its passenger side facing southeast. The Mack truck came to a controlled stop facing south on I-29.
Kalbfleisch, who was wearing a seat belt, suffered serious injuries and was transported by an Atchison-Holt ambulance to Mosaic Life Care in St. Joseph. A dog riding in the Kalbfleisch vehicle was killed in the wreck. The 2007 Ford Escape was totaled and towed from the scene by Double M Towing. The 2019 Mack Truck Anthem sustained minor damage and was driven from the scene. The accident was investigated by Cpl. K.L. Ebersold, who was assisted by CVO Chief K.L. Shewey, the Atchison County Sheriff’s Office, the Rock Port Fire Department, and the Atchison-Holt Ambulance Service.