AccuWeather reporters aid injured driver after semi flips over
Jillian Angeline and Tony Laubach quickly switched gears from covering a spate of extreme weather across Iowa to acting as first responders on the scene.
By
John Murphy, AccuWeather staff writer
Published Dec 16, 2021 10:19 PM EDT
|
Updated Dec 17, 2021 12:26 PM EDT
AccuWeather reporters helped an injured truck driver when his tractor trailer flipped during the high-wind event Wednesday.
Dangerous travel conditions unfolded across the western and midwestern United States Wednesday as an unusual December severe storm system thrashed a large swath of the country. Severe thunderstorms, heavy wind and even tornadoes made travel especially difficult.
Iowa experienced some of the worst from the storms. Winds as high as 93 mph were reported at Lincoln Airport in Iowa, and several EF2 tornadoes were confirmed to have touched down in the state on Wednesday night.
At noon on Wednesday, the high winds in the state caused the Iowa Department of Transportation (Iowa DOT) to restrict overweight and oversized permitted vehicles from traveling. This restriction lasted until just before sunrise Thursday.
Most truck drivers heeded the high wind warnings issued in Iowa on Wednesday, causing usual busy truck stops to become near-deserted, according to WHO 13 News.
Some drivers said they'd rather be safe than sorry as the winds picked up.
“You get 30-40 mph winds and I’ve had trailers come up off the ground going around a curve just rolling up the wheels," truck driver Brian Clevenger told WHO 13 News.
Wind reports from Dec. 15 into Dec. 16.
As the severe weather made its way into Iowa, AccuWeather's Jillian Angeline and Tony Laubach stopped at a gas station to capture the intense storm.
After capturing staggering videos of the storm's fierce winds, Angeline and Laubach traveled back onto I-80.
As they drove down the interstate, they quickly realized the devastation caused by the storm as several flipped tractor-trailers were flipped along the interstate.
"We counted about nine within a few miles' stretch of Western Iowa," reported Angeline.
Angeline and Laubach stopped to capture video of the downed tractor-trailers when they noticed something from behind one of the trailers.
Upon closer look, someone was flagging down Angeline and Laubach with a flashlight. It was one of the tractor-trailer drivers, Ali Kulmiye.
Ali Kulmiye using his flashlight to get the attention of AccuWeather reporters Jillian Angeline and Tony Laubach. (AccuWeather)
Kulmiye had attempted to stop his tractor-trailer as the heavy winds started to tip it over. As the car tried to slow, it started to slide and eventually tipped over.
His co-driver was badly injured and bleeding after the truck flipped.
Kulmiye said he has been driving a long time and has never seen weather like what he witnessed in Iowa on Wednesday night.
Angeline and Laubach placed the injured co-driver into their vehicle, wrapping him in an emergency blanket as they waited for emergency responders to arrive.
While the co-driver was being attended to, Kulmiye tried to salvage what he could of their belongings from the truck.
CLICK HERE FOR THE FREE ACCUWEATHER APP
An officer with a first aid kit was the first to arrive and helped the injured co-driver until the paramedics arrived shortly after. The co-driver was taken to the hospital to get additional medical attention.
The two AccuWeather reporters continued on to cover the storm once the co-driver was taken to the hospital.
“You know as storm chasers, we’re always kind of the first ones there and above being a storm chaser, above being a journalist, we’re humans,” said Laubach.
Reporting by AccuWeather National Reporters Jillian Angeline and Tony Laubach.
For the latest weather news check back on AccuWeather.com. Watch the AccuWeather Network on DIRECTV, Frontier, Spectrum, fuboTV, Philo, and Verizon Fios. AccuWeather Now is now available on your preferred streaming platform.
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News / Severe Weather
AccuWeather reporters aid injured driver after semi flips over
Jillian Angeline and Tony Laubach quickly switched gears from covering a spate of extreme weather across Iowa to acting as first responders on the scene.
By John Murphy, AccuWeather staff writer
Published Dec 16, 2021 10:19 PM EDT | Updated Dec 17, 2021 12:26 PM EDT
AccuWeather reporters helped an injured truck driver when his tractor trailer flipped during the high-wind event Wednesday.
Dangerous travel conditions unfolded across the western and midwestern United States Wednesday as an unusual December severe storm system thrashed a large swath of the country. Severe thunderstorms, heavy wind and even tornadoes made travel especially difficult.
Iowa experienced some of the worst from the storms. Winds as high as 93 mph were reported at Lincoln Airport in Iowa, and several EF2 tornadoes were confirmed to have touched down in the state on Wednesday night.
At noon on Wednesday, the high winds in the state caused the Iowa Department of Transportation (Iowa DOT) to restrict overweight and oversized permitted vehicles from traveling. This restriction lasted until just before sunrise Thursday.
Most truck drivers heeded the high wind warnings issued in Iowa on Wednesday, causing usual busy truck stops to become near-deserted, according to WHO 13 News.
Some drivers said they'd rather be safe than sorry as the winds picked up.
“You get 30-40 mph winds and I’ve had trailers come up off the ground going around a curve just rolling up the wheels," truck driver Brian Clevenger told WHO 13 News.
Wind reports from Dec. 15 into Dec. 16.
As the severe weather made its way into Iowa, AccuWeather's Jillian Angeline and Tony Laubach stopped at a gas station to capture the intense storm.
After capturing staggering videos of the storm's fierce winds, Angeline and Laubach traveled back onto I-80.
As they drove down the interstate, they quickly realized the devastation caused by the storm as several flipped tractor-trailers were flipped along the interstate.
"We counted about nine within a few miles' stretch of Western Iowa," reported Angeline.
Angeline and Laubach stopped to capture video of the downed tractor-trailers when they noticed something from behind one of the trailers.
Upon closer look, someone was flagging down Angeline and Laubach with a flashlight. It was one of the tractor-trailer drivers, Ali Kulmiye.
Ali Kulmiye using his flashlight to get the attention of AccuWeather reporters Jillian Angeline and Tony Laubach. (AccuWeather)
Kulmiye had attempted to stop his tractor-trailer as the heavy winds started to tip it over. As the car tried to slow, it started to slide and eventually tipped over.
His co-driver was badly injured and bleeding after the truck flipped.
Kulmiye said he has been driving a long time and has never seen weather like what he witnessed in Iowa on Wednesday night.
Angeline and Laubach placed the injured co-driver into their vehicle, wrapping him in an emergency blanket as they waited for emergency responders to arrive.
While the co-driver was being attended to, Kulmiye tried to salvage what he could of their belongings from the truck.
CLICK HERE FOR THE FREE ACCUWEATHER APP
An officer with a first aid kit was the first to arrive and helped the injured co-driver until the paramedics arrived shortly after. The co-driver was taken to the hospital to get additional medical attention.
The two AccuWeather reporters continued on to cover the storm once the co-driver was taken to the hospital.
“You know as storm chasers, we’re always kind of the first ones there and above being a storm chaser, above being a journalist, we’re humans,” said Laubach.
Reporting by AccuWeather National Reporters Jillian Angeline and Tony Laubach.
More storm coverage:
For the latest weather news check back on AccuWeather.com. Watch the AccuWeather Network on DIRECTV, Frontier, Spectrum, fuboTV, Philo, and Verizon Fios. AccuWeather Now is now available on your preferred streaming platform.
Report a Typo