A 17-year-old from Ohio admitted to causing a catastrophic crash on September 29, 2023 involving a tanker truck carrying toxic ammonia, resulting in the deaths of five people.
People citing National Transportation Safety Board interview reported that the young driver revealed she was in Illinois that day to visit her mother’s boyfriend. While recounting her trip to authorities, she noted that she was driving behind several trucks when she encountered a slower vehicle, which prompted her to accelerate and pass it at high speed.
“I was behind this boxy maybe trailer or RV. And he was going super duper slow, so I passed him,” she recalled, seemingly unaware of the tragedy that unfolded after that.
When asked about the tanker truck, she said, “I heard that maybe it flipped” and went off the road. She claimed not to have seen or heard the crash, merely noticing the emergency vehicles heading in the opposite direction.
Dashcam footage would later reveal a different story. The video captured the moment the teen cut off the anhydrous ammonia tanker while attempting to pass at approximately 90 mph. The ensuing jackknife maneuver led the truck to collide with a utility trailer parked just off the highway, puncturing the tank and releasing thousands of gallons of the caustic chemical into the air. This toxic plume forced the evacuation of nearly 500 people for hours.
When confronted with the dashcam video, the teen said, “Oh, (expletive). Yeah. Oh, my goodness. Yep, totally my bad. Wow. Holy (expletive),” acknowledging her role in the accident that had devastating consequences.
The accident that occurred near Teutopolis, Illinois, resulted in the death of five people including a father and his two children and prompted the evacuation of over 500 residents in the vicinity.