December 24, 1999
Fiery crash kills two truck drivers
By Jefferson Wolfe
Staff Writer
Two men died in a Thursday morning accident in which the trucks they were driving crashed and burst into flames. Despite the presence of radioactive materials in one truck, officials say there is no danger.
Sheriff H. Weldin Neff said the accident happened at 7:37 a.m. at the intersection of SR 635 and CR 38. It involved a small pickup carrying radioactive pharmaceutical materials, and a delivery truck carrying cookies and crackers.
The pickup driver was John Pope, 43, Waterville. According to a report from the Fremont post of the Ohio State Highway Patrol, he failed to yield at a stop sign on CR 38.
The driver of the delivery truck was Karl Pervinkler, 46, Howell, Mich.
Lt. Rick Vitte, commander of the Fremont post, said the speeds of the vehicles are difficult to judge, but it is likely both were traveling about the speed limit when they crashed.
Neff said the pickup was traveling went on CR 38, and the larger delivery truck was traveling south on SR 635. After the impact, both vehicles came to rest at the base of some trees in the yard of Cleophas Brickner and his wife Rita, 3018 W. CR 38.
"Both vehicles burst into flames on impact," Neff said. "The people in the house heard someone calling out for help, but (the vehicles) were engulfed in flames."
"The fire was very intense and involved both vehicles," Vitte said.
"They couldn't get close," Neff said. "It was just an inferno."
"We could see the smoke all the way from Bascom," Assistant Bascom Fire Chief Garry Ruble said.
The Brickners left the house soon after because of the heat and flames, he said.
Firefighters had the blaze under control within a few minutes. It is likely that the fire was caused by the ignition of fuel from a vehicle, Ruble said.
Because the water used to fight the fire was freezing on the road, an Ohio Department of Transportation crew brought salt to keep the pavement free of ice.
Seneca County Emergency Management Agency Director Dan Stahl was among the first to arrive at the accident scene. He said firefighters found signs indicating there was a radioactive biohazard in the pickup. Stahl said firefighters extinguished the blaze, but stayed wary of the area until they determined the pickup's contents. It was carrying radioactive pharmaceuticals for a Toledo company called Syncor, he said.
Gary Zimmerman, a pharmacist and the radiation safety officer for Syncor, said the materials were used for diagnostic studies in hospital nuclear medicine programs.
Some of the typical uses include bone scans and heart and circulation studies, he said. The substance, containing low-level gamma radiation, is injected into a patient, then monitored to determine, for example, the amount and direction of blood flow.
The radioactive materials were in syringes, which were placed inside fireproof lead containers, Zimmerman said. Only two of the containers were were open as a result of the accident, he said. Both syringes were accounted for, Stahl said
Because the product was well-packaged, there was no environmental contamination, Stahl said.
"To the best of our knowledge, there's been no spill," he said. The situation poses no threat to people who live nearby or to the general public. In fact, the radioactivity of the substance declines quickly because it has a half-life of about six hours.
Stahl said he and members of his staff had just completed some radiological emergency training last week, which was very useful in Thursday's crash.
Pope, the Syncor driver, was on his way to Fostoria Community Hospital when the accident happened, Zimmerman said. Pope was driving a regular route which included Fremont, Bellevue, Sandusky, Norwalk and Port Clinton, he said.
Syncor officials, along with representatives from The Ohio Environmental Protection Agency and the Ohio Department of Health were called to the scene.
Kansas, Bettsville, New Riegel and Tiffin firefighters were called, as were Bettsville and New Riegel EMS. The Red Cross also responded.
The major part of the environmental cleanup will involve the spilled diesel fuel in the Brickners' yard, Stahl said.
SR 635 was re-opened and the majority of emergency crews had left the scene by about mid-afternoon.