The driver of a mini-van pulled over by a flagger and hit by the lead megaload at a staging area south of Moscow, Idaho, on November 8 told a local radio station manager/reporter that he sustained minor injuries that have resulted in back and leg pain from the collision characterized by Idaho State Police as a non-injury accident.  Although he refused a recorded interview, James Urquidez expressed dismay with his near-fatal experience, the dismissive attitude of megaload facilitators and accident investigators, the Idaho state police, and megaload hauler Mammoet’s delayed compensation for his unusable, totaled vehicle.  Listen to Driver Reports Minor Injuries after Being Hit by Megaload Last Week, between 15:12 and 12:29 on the KRFP Radio Free Moscow Tuesday, December 13, Evening Report, Driver Hit by Megaload Injured.

Moscow man says he’s disappointed hauler and ISP have ‘minimized’ accident

James Urquidez looks over the damage to his van after being involved in an accident with a large load near Moscow (The Lewiston Tribune/Steve Hanks photo).

MOSCOW – James Urquidez obeyed his first instinct when he realized a megaload was coming right for his head: duck.

“When I realized he wasn’t going to make it, it was too late to do anything else,” Urquidez said Monday.

Last Tuesday night, Urquidez was waiting with several other vehicles on U.S. Highway 95 just south of Moscow for three giant Imperial Oil shipments of refining equipment to pass. One of the megaloads, which was supposed to wait in a staging area, struck Urquidez’s 1996 Chevrolet Astrovan on the upper driver’s side. Continue reading →

The Idaho Transportation Department suspended the mega load shipments from the Port of Lewiston.

LEWISTON, ID – The Idaho Transportation Department suspended the mega load shipments from the Port of Lewiston.

The move comes after a collision involving one of the Imperial Oil refinery modules.

The Moscow-Pullman Daily News reports the suspension includes three shipments that were scheduled to travel on Wednesday. Idaho State Police said Tuesday’s collision involved one of three shipments that left the port Tuesday night. ISP said they were supposed to stop at a staging area near Moscow, but one driver tried to leave before southbound traffic was released. Police said the module struck a van, causing severe damage, and pushed it into another vehicle.

An Imperial Oil spokesman said the company will keep its shipments suspended until it’s confident something like that won’t happen again. The modules are bound for Canada.

View video with photos: ITD Suspends Megaload Movement from Lewiston

(By Nate Kuester, KLEW TV)

The Idaho Transportation Department has suspended the ongoing Imperial Oil/ExxonMobil megaload shipments after a crash south of Moscow on U.S. Highway 95, the Moscow-Pullman Daily News reports. One of the giant loads of oilfield equipment bound for the Alberta oil sands crashed into a van, causing severe damage and pushing the van into another vehicle; however, no injuries were reported. “This was clearly driver error,” Idaho State Police Capt. Lonnie Richardson told the Daily News. Imperial Oil spokesman Pius Rolheiser told the Moscow newspaper the company “won’t move until we’re confident this won’t happen again.” Click below for a full report from the Associated Press and the Daily News.

(By Betsy Russell, Eye on Boise, The Spokesman-Review)

(Link provided by Linwood Laughy)

A mega-load driver is to blame for an accident Tuesday night that damaged two vehicles.

LEWISTON, ID – Idaho State Police say just before 9:45 a Mammoet driver destined for Canada got confused in the staging area south of Moscow on U.S. 95. Instead of stopping, he continued through the area and hit a van that was stopped for the staging. The van was pushed into the vehicle behind it. No one was injured. ISP said the accident was caused only by driver error. It’s not yet been decided if the driver will be charged. The other two loads in the same convoy continued north.

View video with photos: Megaload Accident

(By Tracci Dial, KLEW TV)

(Link provided by Linwood Laughy)

Driver leaves staging area, striking van with module

The Idaho Transportation Department has suspended further shipments of Imperial Oil refinery modules from the Port of Lewiston following a Tuesday night accident south of Moscow.

Three shipments that left the port Tuesday night were supposed to stop at a staging area on U.S. Highway 95 before traveling through Moscow in a convoy, but one driver attempted to leave the area before southbound traffic was released, said Capt. Lonnie Richardson with Idaho State Patrol Region 2 in Lewiston. The module itself struck a Chevy Astro causing severe damage and minor damage when it was pushed into the vehicle behind it. No one was injured, Richardson said. Continue reading →

MOSCOW – After a noninjury accident on U.S. Highway 95 about one mile south of here, megaload movements through Moscow have been suspended.

The suspension follows an incident Tuesday night, and resumption is pending the filing of an accident mitigation plan, the Idaho State Police reported. Continue reading →