Pastor, swim team among victims of tanker crash

Cathy Griffith, Effingham Daily News, Ill.
·2 min read

Oct. 3—While the community mourns the loss of local family members Kenneth, Rosie and Walker Bryan, Friday's tragic accident in Teutopolis claimed the lives of two others — a pastor from Missouri and a father from Ohio.

It also left others severely injured, among them members of a college swim team on their way to a meet.

Vasile Cricovan was a son, husband, father and brother, as well as cousin and friend. The 31-year-old Twinsburg, Ohio, resident died after the truck carrying anhydrous ammonia overturned in front of him, according to a GoFundMe page set up for his family.

He braked, got out of his truck and inhaled the toxic vapors, which caused respiratory failure, the page stated. As of Tuesday afternoon, more than $42,000 had been raised for his family.

The Rev. Danny J. Smith was pastor of St. Peter's United Church of Christ in New Haven, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported. He died after breathing fumes from the toxic chemical. Rob Hesemann, president of St. Peter's United Church of Christ council, told the newspaper that Smith had been a minister for almost 37 years, was an Indiana Hoosiers fan and loved to ride motorcycles so much he named his dog Harley.

University of Missouri freshman Anja Dangelmaier was on her way to a swim meet against Ohio State University when the accident occurred. The 18-year-old from Dallas, Texas, and three of her Mizzou Club Swim teammates were behind the tanker truck carrying anhydrous ammonia when it overturned.

Dangelmaier stopped her car and the four swimmers ran as the chemical plume covered them, according to a GoFundMe page set up for her. As of Tuesday afternoon, more than $16,000 had been raised for her.

The other three members of the swim team who tried to flee were John Costello, 18, from Olathe, Kansas; Sara Tauge, 18, from Lake Elmo, Minnesota; and Weston Hemmerling, 18, from Kansas City, Kansas. A collective GoFundMe account set up for the swimmers describes what happened after they ran.

"As they all ran in different directions, they ended up falling into ditches on the side of the road where they remained until being found by EMS."

According to the GoFundMe page, emergency workers found Hemmerling first, but they had to wait for hazmat teams before finding the others, as the chemical cloud was too dangerous.

Costello, Tague and Dangelmaier were all airlifted to regional hospitals, while Hemmerling was taken to HSHS St. Anthony's Memorial Hospital in Effingham. All were placed in ICU suffering from various levels of chemical burns to their eyes, skin, throat and lungs, according to the GoFundMe page.

The GoFundMe account for the Mizzou Club Swimmer had raised over $20,000 by Tuesday evening.