Simplot driver killed in Idaho tanker crash

Rigby, Idaho-A J.R. Simplot Co. driver was killed May 17 when she was ejected from the cab of the tanker truck she was driving. A hundred or more gallons of liquid fertilizer spilled in the accident, which occurred two miles east of Drummond on a corner of eastbound Idaho 32. Investigators reported no other vehicles were involved. A Simplot statement identified the victim as Holly Goebel, 54, of Ashton, who had been employed by Simplot Grower Solutions (SGS) in September and October, 2009, and had begun driving again for SGS last month. She was described as an extremely experienced truck driver with thousands of hours behind the wheel of large vehicles. The Fremont County sheriff’s office said Goebel lost control of the 10-wheeled truck and overcorrected. She was pronounced dead at the scene. Bruce King, a spokesman for the Idaho Transportation Department, reported that a team of experts from Simplot determined that the fertilizer spill amounted to about 100 gallons of the 1,200 that were in the tanker. Simplot says the tanker carried non-hazardous liquid fertilizer blend 32-0-0, 10-34-0, and thio-sul. The liquid ran 100 feet down a ditch along the highway. Authorities determined that no cleanup would be needed because the fertilizer had soaked into the ground and was biodegradable. The team also deemed insignificant the two gallons of diesel fuel that spilled onto the dirt shoulder of the highway. Goebel apparently had filled the tank on the truck half-full of liquid fertilizer and was on her way to deliver it to a local distributor or farmer when the accident occurred. Simplot sent cleanup personnel to spray the highway using a pressure washer. Later the same day, another tanker truck, this one with anhydrous ammonia, rolled over in the median in a construction zone near Niagara, N.D., injuring the driver and spilling a small amount of the chemical. Investigators said it was fortunate the tanker did not rupture when it overturned. The driver was taken to a hospital in Grand Forks, where he was listed in satisfactory condition. Highway patrol troopers said the westbound lanes of U.S. Highway 2 were shut down for a couple of hours late Monday and early Tuesday, and then again later for another hour while the tanker was removed.