Trucker’s Dead Dog Helps Confirm Identity in I-95 Truck Crash

Jan. 20, 2004
Remains of her dog helped confirm the identity of truck driver and mother of two, Rita Ann Gall, the latest person whose body was identified in the fiery crash last week on I-95 in which a tanker truck plummeted from an overpass and landed on four vehicles killing four people and closing parts of the road for more than 12 hours. Gall, 42, a driver for Swift, was taking a load of retail goods from
Remains of her dog helped confirm the identity of truck driver and mother of two, Rita Ann Gall, the latest person whose body was identified in the fiery crash last week on I-95 in which a tanker truck plummeted from an overpass and landed on four vehicles killing four people and closing parts of the road for more than 12 hours.

Gall, 42, a driver for Swift, was taking a load of retail goods from Georgia to New York when she and her 9-year-old cocker spaniel mix, Dubba Dog, who always traveled beside her, were hit from above by the tanker-truck fireball. Because she was burned beyond recognition, authorities were forced to identify Gall through dental records; remains of the dog next to her in the cab helped confirm Gall's identity, according to police.

Authorities said she and her dog probably died together instantly.

This weekend, NTSB officials closed part of the involved roads and simulated the incident so could they could take measurements and gather data in an effort to learn why the tanker truck went over the ramp to the highway below.

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