Snowplow driver fired over 'grossly negligent behavior' on highway
Officials terminated the snowplow driver after his actions -- caught on video by a dashcam -- were blamed for damaging dozens of vehicles and causing numerous injuries to motorists.
By
Allison Finch, AccuWeather staff writer
Published Feb 9, 2022 11:56 AM EST
|
Updated Feb 9, 2022 12:07 PM EST
An Ohio Turnpike snowplow driver has been fired for his "grossly negligent behavior" after blasting oncoming traffic on the highway with an icy torrent of snow in January, which resulted in a 55-car crash that left 18 people injured.
ABC News 5 Cleveland obtained a letter from Ferzan Ahmed, the executive director of the Ohio Turnpike and Infrastructure Commission, which was sent to the 54-year-old snowplow driver, Timothy Rakay, to inform him of his termination, effective immediately.
“Notice is hereby given that the Ohio Turnpike and Infrastructure Commission is terminating your employment effective immediately. Your employment is being terminated for an egregious Chargeable Accident on January 23, while engaging in grossly negligent behavior as to endanger life, property, public safety, or otherwise cause the Commission to be liable for the damage. Further, you failed to responsibly perform duties that are within the proper scope of your position as a Maintenance Worker Class II Roadway employee,” the letter read, according to ABC News 5 Cleveland.
The crashes happened just before 2 p.m. local time as the driver was heading west on the Ohio Turnpike in Erie County, just outside of Norwalk, Ohio, which is about 55 miles west of Cleveland. While the plow was traveling fast enough to keep up with surrounding traffic, a blast of ice, snow and slush went flying over the median onto vehicles traveling in the opposite direction. One truck driver caught part of the dramatic scene on a dashcam.
Cars can be seen swerving off the road after being hit by the blast of snow from the plow, which eventually led to a crash involving 55 cars. At least 18 motorists were injured in the chaos.
The snowplow propelled a torrent of ice, snow and slush onto traffic traveling in the opposite direction on the Ohio Turnpike in Erie County on Jan. 23.
(Michael Lemon, Titanium Transportation Ltd. via ViralHog)
According to the Sandusky Register, most of the injuries the motorists involved in the crash suffered were minor, but, police said, among the most serious injuries were a broken nose and other facial wounds.
Immediately following the incident, the driver was placed on administrative leave, according to Cleveland.com. He was notified of his termination on Tuesday, Feb. 8.
Officials from the Ohio Turnpike called this an "isolated incident" involving a single snowplow driver and added that the reckless behavior was not representative of its employees or its operations.
As of Tuesday, 51 vehicle owners had filed property damage claims with the Ohio Turnpike as a result of the incident.
Lindsay Schulman was one of the drivers who got caught in the slush storm. She told ABC News 5 that there is almost $8,000 worth of damage on her SVU from the plow truck's torrent of slush.
"He certainly made a very poor decision in how he was driving, and I would hate to see this happening again because it was one of the scariest moments," Schulman shared with ABC News 5, "I'm not optimistic my car will be back anytime soon."
The Ohio Turnpike and Ohio State Highway Patrol said an investigation into the incident is ongoing. Individuals wishing to file a property damage claim with the Ohio Turnpike are urged to do so on the Ohio Turnpike website.
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 / Winter Weather
Snowplow driver fired over 'grossly negligent behavior' on highway
Officials terminated the snowplow driver after his actions -- caught on video by a dashcam -- were blamed for damaging dozens of vehicles and causing numerous injuries to motorists.
By Allison Finch, AccuWeather staff writer
Published Feb 9, 2022 11:56 AM EST | Updated Feb 9, 2022 12:07 PM EST
An Ohio Turnpike snowplow driver has been fired for his "grossly negligent behavior" after blasting oncoming traffic on the highway with an icy torrent of snow in January, which resulted in a 55-car crash that left 18 people injured.
ABC News 5 Cleveland obtained a letter from Ferzan Ahmed, the executive director of the Ohio Turnpike and Infrastructure Commission, which was sent to the 54-year-old snowplow driver, Timothy Rakay, to inform him of his termination, effective immediately.
“Notice is hereby given that the Ohio Turnpike and Infrastructure Commission is terminating your employment effective immediately. Your employment is being terminated for an egregious Chargeable Accident on January 23, while engaging in grossly negligent behavior as to endanger life, property, public safety, or otherwise cause the Commission to be liable for the damage. Further, you failed to responsibly perform duties that are within the proper scope of your position as a Maintenance Worker Class II Roadway employee,” the letter read, according to ABC News 5 Cleveland.
The crashes happened just before 2 p.m. local time as the driver was heading west on the Ohio Turnpike in Erie County, just outside of Norwalk, Ohio, which is about 55 miles west of Cleveland. While the plow was traveling fast enough to keep up with surrounding traffic, a blast of ice, snow and slush went flying over the median onto vehicles traveling in the opposite direction. One truck driver caught part of the dramatic scene on a dashcam.
Cars can be seen swerving off the road after being hit by the blast of snow from the plow, which eventually led to a crash involving 55 cars. At least 18 motorists were injured in the chaos.
The snowplow propelled a torrent of ice, snow and slush onto traffic traveling in the opposite direction on the Ohio Turnpike in Erie County on Jan. 23.
According to the Sandusky Register, most of the injuries the motorists involved in the crash suffered were minor, but, police said, among the most serious injuries were a broken nose and other facial wounds.
Immediately following the incident, the driver was placed on administrative leave, according to Cleveland.com. He was notified of his termination on Tuesday, Feb. 8.
Officials from the Ohio Turnpike called this an "isolated incident" involving a single snowplow driver and added that the reckless behavior was not representative of its employees or its operations.
As of Tuesday, 51 vehicle owners had filed property damage claims with the Ohio Turnpike as a result of the incident.
Lindsay Schulman was one of the drivers who got caught in the slush storm. She told ABC News 5 that there is almost $8,000 worth of damage on her SVU from the plow truck's torrent of slush.
"He certainly made a very poor decision in how he was driving, and I would hate to see this happening again because it was one of the scariest moments," Schulman shared with ABC News 5, "I'm not optimistic my car will be back anytime soon."
The Ohio Turnpike and Ohio State Highway Patrol said an investigation into the incident is ongoing. Individuals wishing to file a property damage claim with the Ohio Turnpike are urged to do so on the Ohio Turnpike website.
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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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