Terror on Long Island

From the New York Post:

FIREBALL OF DEATH ON L.I.

June 11, 2005 -- The Sunrise Highway turned into a scene from hell yesterday when an out-of-control oil tanker crashed into several vehicles, killing four and injuring three others.
Fourteen vehicles were burned and mangled on the Long Island roadway after leaking fuel ignited the deadly fireball.

Police did not name the victims, saying none had been positively identified.

Suffolk County Police Detective Sgt. Kenneth Williams said the Mystic Tank Line tanker truck, carrying more than 10,000 gallons of home heating oil, was unable to stop at a construction merge around 9 a.m. It then plowed into a gravel truck and other traffic that had backed up.

Police said the tanker spilled its contents after the collision, and a fire from a gas tank in one of the cars behind the trucks spread to the tanker.

Among the dead was a woman who survived the initial carnage but was trapped in her crushed car, desperately honking her horn and crying out "Please help me! Please help me!"

Trucks are important to our economy, but that in no wise mitigates their responsibility to drive with the utmost care. Unless it was mechanical failure, this truck driver deserves to spend the rest of his life in prison. I see them all the time, driving like maniacs, often tailgating with just one car length to go.

Granted, drivers of passenger cars also do the same thing. They also deserve to pay for their recklessness.