Village president praises first responders after deadly crash and
chemical leak
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[October 09, 2023]
By Zeta Cross | The Center Square contributor
(The Center Square) – A tanker truck crash that killed five people just
outside of the village of Teutopolis may have been caused by a car that
attempted to pass the truck.
The truck carrying the commonly used toxic farm input–anhydrous
ammonia–overturned just before 9 p.m. on Friday, Sept. 29, on US Highway
40 just outside of Teutopolis. The village of 1,600 people is located
110 miles northeast of St. Louis, Missouri.
Five people were killed by the toxic fumes that were released, including
resident Kenneth Bryan, 34, his daughter Rosie, 7, and his son Walker,
10. Bryan and his children were in the yard where Bryan lived at the
home of Jordan and Megan Elmore when the Bryans were overcome by
chemical fumes. The Elmores pets and livestock were also killed by the
fumes, according to a Facebook post by Amber Dawn – one of several
people who set up GoFundMe pages for the victims.
The two other victims were identified as Danny J. Smith, 67, from New
Haven, Missouri, and Vasile Cricovan, 3,1 from Twinsburg, Ohio.
Five motorists were medically evacuated to area hospitals. Several other
victims were treated locally at HSHS St. Anthony Memorial Hospital in
Effingham.
![](http://archives.lincolndailynews.com/2023/Oct/09/images/ads/current/humanesociety_sda022411.png)
According to the Associated Press, the accident appears to be the result
of an attempt by one vehicle to pass the tanker. The pass attempt caused
the tanker driver to move to the right, where he ran off the road,
rolled over, and jackknifed the tanker. In the process, the cargo tank
hit a trailer hitch on a utility vehicle that was parked by the highway.
The impact created a hole that released the toxic fumes. About 500
people were evacuated from their homes.
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![](../images/100723PIX/news_c4.jpg)
A screenshot of surveillance video Illinois State Police released in
search of a suspect vehicle connected with a fatal crash in
Effingham County last month - YouTube / Illinois State Police
![](http://archives.lincolndailynews.com/2019/Sep/05/images/ads/current/stclara_lda_SPONSOR_090519.png)
After promoting the public for assistance in finding the suspect
vehicle, Illinois State Police announced they identified the vehicle.
It's unclear if there will be charges.
Teutopolis village president Dave Repking and his family, who live about
a mile from the accident scene, had to leave their homes for 48 hours.
“As we left our house Friday evening, we could smell the anhydrous just
as soon as we stepped outside. We kept the garage door closed. We had
the car windows sealed up and you could still smell it,” Repking said.
Repking credits the Teutopolis Volunteer Fire Department and responders
from Effingham for getting to the accident scene within minutes.
“They were over there in a minute’s notice. It was amazing,” Repking
said. “They’re a very well-trained unit.”
One hundred first responders from fire departments, hazmat units, and
EMT stations came from all over the area, including from Champaign,
Danville, Charleston, Mattoon, Centralia, St. Elmo, Altamont and
Dieterich, Repking said.
“The MABAS is a collaborative unit of fire departments that helps each
other out in critical situations like this. The cooperation is
unbelievable,” Repking said.
Teutopolis High School became the command center for the hazmat effort
to contain the chemical spill. Teutopolis residents donated food and
supplies, including food for an Octoberfest celebration that was
canceled because of the accident. |