double trouble
02-08-2005, 08:27 PM
:lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol:
KRISTINA SMITH
Staff writer
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News-Messenger/Polly Bauman
THREE MEN work on trying to get the pickup trucks out of the lake Monday.
CATAWBA ISLAND -- After several attempts, tow trucks on Monday pulled out two pickup trucks that broke through the ice Sunday into eight to 10 feet of water near Catawba State Park, U.S. Coast Guard officers said.
The pickup owners, Matthew Puda, 37, and Anthony Kosztyo, age unavailable, both of Port Clinton, will not likely face fines for the fluids that leaked from the trucks into the lake, said Chief Petty Officer Rob Cox of the U.S. Coast Guard, Toledo station.
Tow truck workers encountered several problems and broken tow chains while they attempted to retrieve the trucks, which were about 100 feet from shore, Sunday evening and Monday morning, said Petty Officer Timothy Robertson of the U.S. Coast Guard, Marblehead station.
After several failed attempts to use chains from tow trucks parked ashore Sunday, workers brought in a larger truck at 5:50 p.m., Robertson said. At 7:36 p.m., they stopped trying and resumed at 10:30 a.m. Monday, he said.
One of the pickups had several broken and damaged parts and was hanging on a crane when Coast Guard officers arrived at the scene at 12:30 p.m., Robertson said.
"They tore it up pretty good getting it out," Robertson said.
The other truck appeared to be intact, he said.
Puda and Kosztyo parked their trucks, a 1988 Chevrolet and a 1998 Chevrolet, on the ice Sunday morning, said BM2 Justin Olson and Auxiliary Officer Fred Overholt.
The pair were ice fishing and went farther out onto the ice. They returned at 4 p.m. to find the trucks in the water, Overholt said Sunday. Temperatures in the 40s Sunday probably caused the ice to melt and break under the pressure of the trucks, Overholt said.
Puda and Kosztyo could not be reached for comment. The two were responsible for getting tow trucks to remove the pickups and the cost of the removal, officers said.
Officers from the Coast Guard's Toledo station were at the scene Monday to monitor the recovery process. Cox said each truck had eight to 15 gallons of gasoline in their 30-gallon tanks.
"In the environmental world and the lakes, that is not a major spill, Cox said.
The gas would have evaporated in a few hours, and spilled motor oil would dissipate after one or two days, Cox said.
"Recovery of that is not exactly an easy feat," Cox said.
Puda and Kosztyo will be notified through a letter that materials from their trucks spilled into the water, Cox said. The Coast Guard usually charges $150 fines for those who have more than one incident of this kind, Cox said.
Vehicles falling through the ice is a common occurrence this time of year, Cox said.
"Between us and Detroit, there's at least one case that happens on Lake Erie," he said.
E-mail Kristina Smith at mksmith@fremont.gannett.com
KRISTINA SMITH
Staff writer
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
News-Messenger/Polly Bauman
THREE MEN work on trying to get the pickup trucks out of the lake Monday.
CATAWBA ISLAND -- After several attempts, tow trucks on Monday pulled out two pickup trucks that broke through the ice Sunday into eight to 10 feet of water near Catawba State Park, U.S. Coast Guard officers said.
The pickup owners, Matthew Puda, 37, and Anthony Kosztyo, age unavailable, both of Port Clinton, will not likely face fines for the fluids that leaked from the trucks into the lake, said Chief Petty Officer Rob Cox of the U.S. Coast Guard, Toledo station.
Tow truck workers encountered several problems and broken tow chains while they attempted to retrieve the trucks, which were about 100 feet from shore, Sunday evening and Monday morning, said Petty Officer Timothy Robertson of the U.S. Coast Guard, Marblehead station.
After several failed attempts to use chains from tow trucks parked ashore Sunday, workers brought in a larger truck at 5:50 p.m., Robertson said. At 7:36 p.m., they stopped trying and resumed at 10:30 a.m. Monday, he said.
One of the pickups had several broken and damaged parts and was hanging on a crane when Coast Guard officers arrived at the scene at 12:30 p.m., Robertson said.
"They tore it up pretty good getting it out," Robertson said.
The other truck appeared to be intact, he said.
Puda and Kosztyo parked their trucks, a 1988 Chevrolet and a 1998 Chevrolet, on the ice Sunday morning, said BM2 Justin Olson and Auxiliary Officer Fred Overholt.
The pair were ice fishing and went farther out onto the ice. They returned at 4 p.m. to find the trucks in the water, Overholt said Sunday. Temperatures in the 40s Sunday probably caused the ice to melt and break under the pressure of the trucks, Overholt said.
Puda and Kosztyo could not be reached for comment. The two were responsible for getting tow trucks to remove the pickups and the cost of the removal, officers said.
Officers from the Coast Guard's Toledo station were at the scene Monday to monitor the recovery process. Cox said each truck had eight to 15 gallons of gasoline in their 30-gallon tanks.
"In the environmental world and the lakes, that is not a major spill, Cox said.
The gas would have evaporated in a few hours, and spilled motor oil would dissipate after one or two days, Cox said.
"Recovery of that is not exactly an easy feat," Cox said.
Puda and Kosztyo will be notified through a letter that materials from their trucks spilled into the water, Cox said. The Coast Guard usually charges $150 fines for those who have more than one incident of this kind, Cox said.
Vehicles falling through the ice is a common occurrence this time of year, Cox said.
"Between us and Detroit, there's at least one case that happens on Lake Erie," he said.
E-mail Kristina Smith at mksmith@fremont.gannett.com