Camera catches runaway semi as it barely avoids hitting gas pump
A surveillance video taken by cameras positioned at a gas station in Akron, OH, caught a terrifying runaway truck crash that miraculously resulted in no deaths or major injuries.
Truck driver Elvis Reyes Barceló, 35, of Houston, TX, told police he lost his brakes and his load shifted as he tried to make a left turn, and the moving cargo caused the rig to roll onto its side. It can be seen on video sliding toward the gas pumps at the Marathon Gas Station before a light pole stopped it from colliding with disaster, according to a Fox 8 News report.
Mary Lewis, day manager at the gas station said she was finishing up her shift when a loud noise shook the place. She can be seen on the video running to hit a shut-off valve that prevents gas pumps from exploding. A co-worker, Rahif Faris, had the same instinct and ran for a shut-off valve closer to where he was standing.
Faris and Lewis credited the driver’s skill with preventing disaster. The video shows Barceló maneuvering the racing rig between two parked cars at the intersection before the rig rolls onto its side.
The video also shows bystanders who risked their own safety to attempt to help the passengers in the truck after it crashed. A passenger in a minivan parked at a gas pump can be seen exiting her vehicle and running toward the semi despite fears the truck might explode. She is seen tearing the shattered passenger window from the overturned truck to help truck passenger Dammars Domingus climb out of the semi. Barceló escaped on his own a few moments later.
No one was seriously hurt in the accident that occurred just off Interstate 77 south Thursday July 5.
