TEUTOPOLIS. Ill. (WCIA) — Nearly three months after a deadly hazardous materials disaster in Teutopolis, the last victims who were still in the hospital are now recovering at home.
Kim Rhodes, the Effingham County Coroner, confirmed Wednesday that the two were released from the care facilities they’ve been in since early October. Terrie Tudor, 61 of Missouri, was in a rehab facility in Chicago while John Costello, 19, was in a hospital in his home state of Kansas.
Rhodes said both will have long-term injuries, but they are making progress.
Tudor and Costello were two of 12 people who were caught in a toxic cloud of anhydrous ammonia that spilled out of a crashed tanker truck near Teutopolis on Sept. 30. Five of those people died, three of whom were a father and his two children.
The National Transportation Safety Board determined that the crash happened when a car tried to pass the tanker in a no-passing zone, as another car was approaching from the opposite direction. To avoid a head-on collision, the driver steered to the right and went off the road.
The tank hit a trailer parked at the scene and the hitch tore a hole in the tank. There were 4,500 gallons of anhydrous ammonia in the tanker, and half of it leaked out.
All of the victims suffered chemical burns to their eyes, lungs and respiratory systems. Other than Tudor and Costello, all of the other victims who survived were released from hospitals and care facilities after about three weeks.
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