Trucker escapes tanker crash

A Harrington trucker escaped injury late March 1 when he lost control of this semi tractor-trailer while rounding a curve on Highway 23 just south of Lamont. Troopers, Lamont fire volunteers and Department of Transportation crews responded to the scene which blocked off one lane of the highway while the wrecked tanker was off-loaded.

When Lamont fire volunteers arrived at the scene the driver of the semi, Dean R. Gravning, 53, was already out of the wrecked cab of the truck and setting up warning triangles to warn other motorists about the wreck on the tight curve.

According to the Washington State Patrol traffic report, Gravning was driving the 2004 Freightliner southbound when he lost control on the curve at 11:45 a.m. The semi-tanker rig came to a halt on its side in the southbound ditch. Extensive damage was done to the passenger side of the cab.

After returning to their station, Lamont volunteers were called back to the scene when a diesel spill from the truck’s fuel tanks was ignited by sparks from the battery cables in the wreck. Troopers were able to douse the fire with extinguishers, but the fire crew remained on the scene.

The tanker was loaded with a non-hazardous liquid fertilizer mix which was off-loaded before the wreck was towed from the scene by a Colfax Body Shop wrecker.

Transfer of the load blocked the southbound lane of the highway, and DOT crews operated traffic controls for alternating one-way traffic in the open northbound lane. Crews cleared the scene at approximately 5:15.