A federal report on a tanker-truck crash a year ago in central Illinois that spilled a toxic chemical and killed five people includes an interview with a 17-year-old Ohio girl who concedes that the truck was forced off the road when she passed it with the minivan she was driving.

The tanker slowed and pulled to the right to allow the minivan to get back in the right-hand lane and avoid a head-on collision with oncoming traffic on the two-lane U.S. 40 in Teutopolis on Sept. 29, 2023, according to dash-cam video from the truck also released late Wednesday by the National Transportation Safety Board.

OHIO ‘DANGEROUS’ CHEMICAL SPILL CAUSED BY OPEN VALVE ON TRAIN CAR LEADS TO EMERGENCY EVACUATION

“Oh, (expletive). Yeah. Oh, my goodness. Yep, totally my bad. Wow. Holy (expletive),” the girl said while watching the video from the ill-fated truck during an Oct. 4, 2023, Illinois State Police interview.

The tanker truck was carrying caustic anhydrous ammonia when it jack-knifed and hit a utility trailer parked just off the highway. The trailer’s hitch punctured the tank, spilling about half of the 7,500-gallon (28,390-liter) load about 8:40 p.m. just west of Teutopolis, a community about 110 miles (177 kilometers) northeast of St. Louis.

Five people died as a result, including three family members who were near the road when the incident occurred. About 500 people were evacuated for hours after the accident to spare them exposure to the hazardous plume from the chemical used by farmers to add nitrogen fertilizer to the soil and in large buildings as a refrigerant.

The transportation board said its latest findings are merely a factual account and do not include analysis or conclusions, which are expected later.

The Illinois State Police conducted its own investigation, and spokeswoman Melaney Arnold said the department turned over its findings last month to Effingham County State’s Attorney Aaron Jones. A message seeking comment from Jones was left at his office Thursday.

The girl, whose name is redacted in the transcript of the state police interview because she was a minor at the time, said she was traveling with her mother and brother to visit her mother’s boyfriend in the Illinois suburbs of St. Louis. An accident on Interstate 70 earlier that night diverted loads of traffic onto U.S. 40, and she said she passed three trucks on the road heading west into Teutopolis.

The girl said her pass of the tanker began in a passing zone, although a no-passing sign appears in the video. She said once she began passing, she realized she needed to accelerate to clear oncoming traffic and estimated she was going 90 mph when she pulled back to the right, narrowly slipping by an oncoming vehicle. She told investigators her mother was upset by the close call, but she thought she had plenty of clearance.

However, she declined the police interviewers’ offer to show the dash-cam video again.

“No, you don’t have to. It was totally my fault,” the girl said. “I’ve honestly in the past had times when I just don’t use good judgment in judging like distances and whether I have enough time for something.”

Attempting to give the minivan space to get over, the truck moved onto the shoulder, lost traction on gravel and then hit a drainage culvert, according to the truck driver, who survived. Continuing west, the girl said she soon saw emergency vehicles coming coming east but did not connect them with her passing the truck.

She said that before the family’s return trip to Ohio, when her mother was reading aloud news accounts of the crash, she had no idea it had happened.

“Of course not,” she told investigators. “I told you that like three times.”

When one of the investigators expressed disbelief that no one in the car noticed a truck turning over behind them, she doubled down.

“Nobody said, ‘Oh, the guy behind you drove off the road,’ ” the girl said. “That would’ve been a huge deal for everybody. We would’ve been like, ‘Oh, (expletive), I just caused something really bad to happen,’ and then like our whole night would’ve been figuring out” what to do.

The Detroit Tigers flipped a switch and turned into the hottest team down the final stretch of the regular season that got them into the playoffs for the first time since 2014. They kept that momentum in the Wild Card round by sweeping the Houston Astros and ending their American League record of seven straight ALCS appearances.

But, when facing a Cleveland Guardians team who has been one of the best teams in the league all season long without their ace Tarik Skubal going in Game 1, there were some questions if they would be able to keep that magic going.

Since manager A.J. Hinch went with an opener to close out the Wild Card matchup, he had some options within his starting rotation to choose from, but he opted to go back to the reliever strategy to begin the game.

That completely backfired.

Tyler Holton was shelled for three runs on two hits, failing to record an out before getting pulled from his outing.

Hinch called upon starter Reese Olson to come out of the bullpen, and even though he gave up the three-run homer to Lance Thomas that made it 5-0 immediately when taking the mound, the right-hander settled in after that to throw five innings where he gave up just three hits and was credited with one earned run.

Should the Tigers skipper just have gone with Olson to start the game?

Perhaps.

It’s hard to argue with what Hinch has been doing since he’s pushed all the right buttons coming into this ALDS matchup, but after everything reset and there was time for Detroit to put together a strategy, throwing one of their two available starters might have been the better idea than going with yet another bullpen game.

Of course hindsight is 20/20, but it’s clear the Guardians were ready to jump all over Holton in this situation, and once Olson overcame the foreign role of coming out of the bullpen, he was able to pitch a relative gem that could have come from opening pitch.

Hinch was never going to shy away from doing things that has gotten his team to this point, but that mindset might have also hurt the Tigers in Game 1.

They now face an uphill battle as they look to advance to the Championship Series.

By Karen Stokes

An Economic Opportunity Event featuring Second Gentleman Doug Emhoff took place on Tuesday at Diamond Discs International located on Milwaukee’s northwest side.

The Second Gentleman began his speech by addressing the escalating situation in Israel and the devastation caused by Hurricane Helene in the southern states of North Carolina, Georgia, South Carolina, Florida, and Tennessee. He noted that governors in the affected states have indicated that the administration is working hand in hand with them to ensure they have the necessary resources. He emphasized that the President and Vice President are dedicated to supporting these communities well beyond the immediate emergency response phase.

“Everywhere we go, it’s the same thing. People are ready for Kamala to be president of the United States. They’re ready for somebody who understands them, somebody who understands the economy, somebody who actually cares about you and brings real solutions to the table,” Emhoff said.

“She’s taking the fight directly to Donald Trump right to his face. It’s no surprise he’s ducking a second debate because she kicked his ass at the first debate because we need a president whose toughness is actually real — not just this reality TV fake tough guy routine.”

“Kamala Harris is a capitalist,” Emhoff said. “She’s pro-growth, she’s pro-innovation, pro-technology, she’s pro-business but also supports workers. All these things can work at the same time.”

Even though Kamala Harris’ economic plan does overlap with aspects of Bidenomics, there are also key differences.

Emhoff highlighted Harris’ economic plan as having three tiers.

“First, she aims to lower costs, providing over $100 million in tax cuts. This includes a $6,000 child tax credit for the first year of a child’s life, crucial for families just starting out.

She has a plan to combat price gouging, balancing support for businesses with accountability. Her proposal extends insulin price caps for seniors to all Americans and includes a plan for affordable housing, targeting the construction of three million new homes and offering $25,000 in down payment assistance for first-time homebuyers.”

“The second pillar focuses on investing in innovation and entrepreneurship, with a goal of creating 25 million new businesses in her first term. She plans to allocate one-third of contract dollars to small businesses. The third pillar emphasizes ensuring that America leads in future industries,” he said.

“More than 90 CEOs have endorsed Kamala. Mark Cuban has made a great case for why Kamala is the right choice for the economy. She’s going to create an economy that works for all of us, it’s forward looking, and it’s going to invest in technology, and innovation. She also knows we have to come together,” Emhoff said. “She knows we have so much more in common than what divides us. This is the most important election of our lifetime. Every single vote is going to matter here in Wisconsin.”

Emhoff referenced Michelle Obama’s quote about the importance of voting in such large numbers that it leaves no doubt and counters any attempts at suppression. “We need to win, and we need to win big,” he stated.

Harris will be in Wisconsin, a critical swing state on Thursday in the Fox Valley.