Wednesday, December 9, 2009

Woman killed after trailer she was towing comes loose


Andrew Rogers/The Daily Sentinel


Emergency personnel work the scene of an accident on FM 226 Tuesday morning in which Tracy Lynn Dailey was killed.
Woman killed after trailer she was towing comes loose


The Daily Sentinel

Tuesday, November 24, 2009


A woman died after her truck was pushed off the road by the trailer she was towing Tuesday morning, causing the vehicle to collide with a tree, according to a report filed by the Texas Department of Public Safety.

Tracy Lynn Dailey, 37, of Bronson, was northbound on FM 226 1.4 miles south of Woden at about 10:15 a.m. when the trailer she was pulling came off the towing ball of the truck and pushed against the bumper, according to DPS Trooper Keith Jones.


"The horse trailer tongue was locked and the pin was through it, but it was never on the ball," Jones, who investigated the wreck, said. "It was sitting on top of the ball, and safety chains were hooked. The breakaway device was hooked up, but the tongue eventually slipped off the ball, and as she was pulling it down the road, the trailer was pushing her."

On the scene, the truck had to be pulled away from a tree about 10 feet off the roadway where it had come to a halt and had lodged against the driver side door. Nacogdoches Fire Department responded to the scene with the Jaws of Life that were used to pry off the door that had become mangled by the impact.

Dailey was trapped in the vehicle for almost half an hour while crews worked to free her from the cab of the truck.

Dailey was taken to Nacogdoches Memorial Hospital where she was pronounced dead by Dr. Eulogio Ouano Bonsukan at 11:39 a.m., according to the reports.

The report stated that her seatbelt was worn at the time of the accident and that Wyman Roberts in San Augustine will be in charge of funeral arrangements.

Keith Lansdale's e-mail address

is klansdale@dailysentinel.com.

1 comment:

Al said...

Apparently from the story she failed to make sure the trailer hitch coupler was fully seated on the hitch ball.
The ball hitch is a poorly engineered design to start with. but since there are millions of them around the world we are stuck with this fundamentally flawed design.
The ball hitch requires diligence in hitching up. A fail-safe design like a truck or "5th wheel" RV type hitch might be better as if it is not properly engaged and locked, the truck will come loose from the trailer before the trailer even starts moving.