The firey crash on route 220 Saturday night was the result of a driver who looked like he was in a hurry -- according to Monica Godby who, with her husband Gary, watched the truck from the time it came onto the highway.
"On the on-ramp the tanker that exploded came on to that ramp with so much speed that it almost side-swiped us," said Godby in a phone interview from her home in Faquier County.
Monica says the truck slowed momentarily perhaps because there was a police car traveling just ahead of them -- but suddenly sped up again, and passed them on the right hand side just before the turn.
"The trucker realized he was going too fast for the curve, and braked. We saw the brake lights, and we seen him turn his wheel, yank his wheel -- to the left. ... It caused the truck to flip on its side and it sort of slid along the guard rail. The tank of gasoline went over first and it pulled the cab down with it," she said.
Carlin: "Was there a point at which it looked like he might save it?"
Monica: No. Uh-uh. He would have went over. It just slipped to it's side. ... There was no way he could save it at that speed. It just jackknifed."
Monica says she felt helpless, but there was no way to help. "We were going to stop to help, but by the time we could turn the car engine off, it had exploded."
The truck went over the embankment and came to rest near the railroad tracks, but the fireball was enormous.
Carlin: "Did the fireball actually come up the embankment to the highway?"
Monica: "Yes. To me it looked like part of the road had melted away. It was big."
There was no way for the Godby's or anyone to help the driver. The heat was too intense.
"My husband has a chevy SSR Truck that is his pride and joy and I thought the paint was going to melt off of it," she said.
Monica tells me one thing is certain -- no other drivers were involved.
Carlin: "Nobody cut this guy off, and he was driving like he was in a hurry, that's what you're saying?"
Monica: "Yes. Yes. Oh definitely yes."
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