Truck driver killed in crash identified; cleanup and repairs begin on Bell Lane

The driver killed Tuesday in a fiery tanker-truck explosion was a 57-year-old Hughson man, the Merced County Coroner’s Office confirmed.

Kamkyo Ramon Gnotsavath, 57, was headed to the Arco gas station on Bell Lane Tuesday morning to deliver 8,600 gallons of gasoline.

Witnesses told investigators the truck with Williams Tank Lines, which was coming from Stockton, may already have been on fire around 10:02 a.m. when it left the freeway onto the Bell Lane exit, California Highway Patrol Officer Eric Zuniga said. It reportedly overturned while exiting, causing the trailer to “whip” behind the truck and into the onramp side of Bell Lane.

The truck burst into flames, sending a massive billowing cloud of thick black smoke into the air. Multiple explosions were heard as customers and employees in nearby fast food restaurants evacuated the area.

Corrine Lill, vice president of Williams Tank Lines, declined to comment on the incident Wednesday.

CHP’s Multidisciplinary Accident Investigation Team went out to the crash scene on Wednesday to work on the investigation. CHP is hoping to get GPS information from Williams to determine the speed of the truck before the incident, Zuniga said.

Construction crews and environmental crews also were on scene Wednesday morning to clean gas lines of businesses and clean up the roads, said Brian Shaw, chief water operator and public works manager with the city of Atwater.

Crews were draining a retention pond behind the CHP building after gas from the tanker leaked into a storm drain and into the pond.

“The gas went into a storm drain,” Shaw said. “There’s nothing wrong with the potable water. No drinking water has been affected.”

Bell Lane and the Applegate Road offramp will have to be repaved from the incident, Shaw said. California Department of Transportation said in a tweet on Wednesday there is no timetable for when the Applegate Road ramps to Highway 99 will reopen.

Curbs and gutters also need repairs and were damaged from the heat of the fire, Shaw said.

The cost of much of the cleanup and repairs is covered by Williams Tank Lines’ insurance, Shaw said. Not much city money will be used to fix the damage.

The Merced County Department of Public Health, Division of Environmental Health is collaborating with a hazardous waste cleanup company hired by the trucking company, according to county spokesman Mike North. They are working to clean up any contamination from the spill and testing the ground.

The cleanup and fixes needed at Bell Lane will fall largely on the shoulders of the city of Atwater, according to Skip Allum, a spokesman for Caltrans. “We’re only responsible for the ramps,” he said.

Caltrans expected to be done replacing five signs, which were damaged by the flames, by the end of the day on Wednesday, he said. The entrance and exit on Bell Lane on the southbound side of Highway 99 will remain closed until the city finishes its cleanup, he said.

Many took to social media Tuesday and Wednesday, complaining that the Bell Lane exit is poorly designed, noting the signage calls for traffic to slow to 25 mph on the winding exit.

Allum noted the exit has multiple signs warning drivers to slow down, including blinking lights and road markings.

“It’s pretty well marked,” he said.

This story was originally published May 24, 2017 at 3:41 PM with the headline "Truck driver killed in crash identified; cleanup and repairs begin on Bell Lane."