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Show s i ! ! i i - - I ; . .." Mike Handley and Curt Crofts add their part to the Christmas tree on Highway 20. Larry and Jeannie Duff and Jaylene Martinez placed and decorated the tree where their friend PANGUITCH Leaking propane kept Utah Highway 20 between 1-15 and U.S. 89 closed well into the night Dec. 20 after a single-unit 1977 GMC propane truck rolled twice, killing its 29-y?r-old driver. Lawrence Orton of Panguitch, driving for B&L propane of Hurricane, was east bound at 3:30 p.m. He had just descended the summit safely and entered onto a straight stretch of the highway 12.8 miles east of 1-15 in Iron County. For some yet unexplained reason, he lost control of his truck. It traveled for 52 feet off the pavement, pave-ment, rolling twice and finally coming to rest upright. The driver was ejected and the rear axle of the truck was flung 120 feet from the truck into a ravine. The cab was virtually undamaged with the engine area having taken the brunt of the impact. Investigating Utah Highway Patrol Trooper Gaylcn Moore said Orton was not wearing Lawrence Orton died in last week's propane tanker accident. On Christmas Eve friends and family built a bonfire at the site and shared memories of good times past. Hwy 20 Propane Truck Accident Claims Life Of Panguitch Man his scatbclL The truck straddled both lanes of the highway and began leaking propane. Two LDS missionaries, headed east, were first on the scene, followed by Doug and Vickie Ahlstrom of Tropic and their son Kortney who were westbound. Doug Ahlstrom reported the accident by cellular phone to the Garfield County Sheriffs Office in Panguitch. Hearing the sound of the leaking propane, they jointly pulled the victim farther from the truck as Cindy Johnson, an Emergency Medical Technician, and her two sons, Michael 14 and Brady 13, returning from Cedar City, arrived on the scene. After they moved Orton still farther from the wreck on a blanket stretcher, Johnson began administering CPR and was joined in her efforts by Vickie Ahlstrom and an Ogdcn passerby, also an EMT. Johnson's sons assisted by handing her equipment as she needed it until additional professional help arrived. Moore was the first law enforcement en-forcement officer on the scene and immediately began evacuating the area of people and vehicles as the mist from leaking propane began to spread. Moore said that the propane pro-pane could ignite from a tail light or a misfiring spark plug as far as 15 feet away. Moore requested closure of the 20-mile-long highway to any but emer-gency traffic. Those arriving early on the scene had to leave the way they came because of the leaking propane. The Panguitch ambulance, dispatched at 4:02 p.m., arrived shortly after with EMTs Mack Oetting, Tammy Barton and Mona Partridge, followed by fire engines from the Panguitch Volunteer Fire Department The firefighters, with George Whiting who had experience exper-ience with propane, began working on the leaking tanker. Kenny Orton who works for Amerigas Propane in Panguitch also experienced with propane, soon arrived and joined the others in working on the tanker to stop the leak. The rpist was continuing to spread as Orton, who had learned as he arrived that his cousin had been killed, began working with his wrenches in a nearly four-foot layer of spraying propane. The tank had ruptured at its meter site. Unable to disconnect the hose at the tank and insert a wooden plug there, Orton and the firefighters cut the hose using the "Jaws of Life" borrowed from a fire engine. Then, Orton said, Johnny Talbot climbed up and inserted a wooden plug into the hose. Because the closed tank began building up pressure, Orton hooked up the tanker's delivery hose to carry the remaining propane onto the fields where the remaining propane could be gradually released. The operation took approximately one and one-half hours, Orton said. Orton said that tanker had only 70 to 80 gallons of fuel in its tank when it wrecked. Had it been full, he said, circumstances would have been potentially far more threatening threa-tening than they were. When it was time to transport the tanker from the accident site, the tank was virtually empty., but sparks could still be oresent dangerous. Foster's diesel wrecker from Bryce was on the scene, but it was decided that there was too much risk for ignition if it were used. A front end loader was brought in on a flatbed truck from Cindy Taylor Trucking in Panguitch. Kyle Stewart secured the tank with two chains to his front See Propane Accident On Page 8-A Propane Accident From Page 1 end loader and moved it into place onto his flatbed so that it could be driven to Hurricane by Russell Bridges. It was well into the night before the area was finally cleared. At the scene were Lt. Dan Chidcstcr, UHP Richfield office, who took charge; Bruce Fox, Utah Truck Inspection Program who verified that the truck's brakes were in good order; Panguitch Police Officer Kevin Moore; and UHP Trooper Steven Esplin, Kanab. S heri ff Than Cooper and Deputy Danny Perkins manned the roadblock at U.S. 89 and Highway 20 while troopers from the Cedar City. Utah Highway Patrol office manned the 1-15 junction with Highway 20. Also assisting at the scene was Kim Dallon of Circleville. Officer Moore said his investigation investi-gation into the accident is continuing. |