Diesel Tanker and Lumber Truck Recovery | Full Episode | S4 E3 | Highway Thru Hell

Added: 2026-05-24

[00:00:00]This time on Highway Through Hell.

[00:00:03]Head-on disaster.

[00:00:05]>> Wow, what a nightmare.

[00:00:07]>> Strikes in Alberta.

[00:00:09]>> This is absolutely insane.

[00:00:11]>> Pushing heavy rescue, >> guys. Watch yourself. Back up >> into battle.

[00:00:17]>> Looks like a war zone.

[00:00:19]>> And testing the limits.

[00:00:20]>> Pull it >> of every man on the crew.

[00:00:24]>> Stop.

[00:00:26]Get out of there, Johnny. Get out of there.

[00:00:30]On the highway through hell, the last line of defense is a heavy rescue team ready to tackle any disaster.

[00:00:42]Because closure is not an option.

[00:01:13]What's the forecast for the hill? Is it supposed to snow all that or uh what's the deal?

[00:01:20]They're talking 20 cm by the weekend.

[00:01:24]>> On BC's Cocaala Highway, maintenance crews are battling against a sudden and unexpected storm.

[00:01:32]>> I'm doing the fast lane here and it's built right up 10 from 14.

[00:01:38]>> Yeah, go ahead.

[00:01:39]>> Supervisor Richard Ends is coordinating the counterattack.

[00:01:44]>> The trucks are moving still, but they're starting to have trouble get up the hill here.

[00:01:52]Just to advise, we've activated the chain up lights northbound on the snowshed hill.

[00:02:00]>> This truck ahead of me who's been struggling here for a bit >> as trucks start to lose traction on Snowshed Hill.

[00:02:08]>> A guy here southbound just before the first runway land.

[00:02:14]>> Okay.

[00:02:15]>> Deal from choiring towing enters the frey. We got a couple guys across the road there.

[00:02:22]>> Yeah. Come down to this one that's jack knife in the back lane.

[00:02:30]>> These two jack knives could back up traffic for miles in a span of just minutes.

[00:02:38]>> The trailer brakes are on there.

[00:02:41]>> Yeah.

[00:02:45]>> No, he's going to be driving here in a minute.

[00:02:57]All right, I got to pull out of the way.

[00:02:59]So, you just coast yourself up against the guardrail here and then you'll be not jack knifing.

[00:03:05]>> Al, is that guy going to be mobile?

[00:03:09]>> Oh, he's going on his own here now.

[00:03:12]>> Put her in second gear. Al jumps on board to help the second trucker steer out of the jack knife and down the steepest part of the mountain.

[00:03:21]>> Easy. No, slow. Slow.

[00:03:24]>> This speed all the way down. Lower gear.

[00:03:26]Maybe >> you're okay. Let off the brake.

[00:03:31]>> There's no money in it for Al, but he needs to keep the traffic moving.

[00:03:35]>> Slow, slow, slow.

[00:03:38]>> Hey, both jack knives southbound are now straight.

[00:03:42]Yeah, could you uh back down the hill here? I got one just below Zopus here.

[00:03:45]He's uh chained, but he can't make it.

[00:03:48]>> With more bad weather blowing in, Al won't be slowing down anytime tonight.

[00:03:55]>> One minute we're going one way, the next minute we're going different directions.

[00:03:59]Sometimes that's what you got to do up here to exist.

[00:04:04]>> 750 mi northeast.

[00:04:08]>> It gotten worse since I was out there.

[00:04:10]The next morning brings a blast of winter skating >> to the highways north of Lacabish, Alberta.

[00:04:20]>> It's getting getting pretty dangerous.

[00:04:23]>> Veteran driver Venance Rashard is heading north towards Conklin on Highway 881.

[00:04:31]>> Some places can be icy under there and we don't see it because it's snow on the road.

[00:04:41]Heavy Rescue Alberta is preparing for the worst.

[00:04:45]>> You know, when we have weather conditions like today, problems are going to arise on the highway.

[00:04:51]>> With Jamie Davis coordinating from his dispatch center in Edmonton, he's relying on his Alberta crew to handle those problems.

[00:04:59]>> You kind of have a feeling, you know, a bit of your hair standing up on the back of your neck. You kind of know those days.

[00:05:07]This is one of them. Just after 100 p.m., Colin Mlan gets an urgent call.

[00:05:13]>> So, how bad is everything up there >> from the RCMP?

[00:05:19]>> The logging truck has no cab anymore.

[00:05:21]>> Okay.

[00:05:23]>> There's no tires. Everything is on rim cuz it burst on fire.

[00:05:27]>> Okay.

[00:05:28]>> 85 miles farther up the highway.

[00:05:32]>> What happened there?

[00:05:33]>> Fuel tanker crashed into another truck.

[00:05:36]Traffic on Highway 881 is completely stopped.

[00:05:41]A fuel tanker and logging truck have collided headon.

[00:05:47]Trucker Venance Rashard arrives just minutes after the crash and captures the aftermath with his phone.

[00:05:54]>> I saw some smoke in front of me.

[00:05:57]Holy jeez. I saw a big flame.

[00:06:02]Highway 881,2 semi truck.

[00:06:05]>> Emergency crews race to evacuate the injured, >> but one of the only two routes north to the oil fields is completely blocked.

[00:06:17]>> So, how far away from the scene?

[00:06:19]>> Uh, I'm just coming through about kilometer 110, I believe, right now.

[00:06:28]>> But yeah, we could be working on this one for a while. This wreck will be a test for Colin as lead driver for Jaime's Alberta operation.

[00:06:36]>> One year ago, Colin was brand new at this. Two weeks ago, I put him in the rotator.

[00:06:43]>> And today, he's taking on the biggest wreck of his career.

[00:06:48]>> I'm definitely having to step into being the senior guy.

[00:06:53]It's nerve-wracking.

[00:06:55]It's normally a 2-hour trip to the site of the wreck, but in the white out conditions, Collins's drive is already stretching late into the afternoon.

[00:07:05]>> Pretty much looks like a northern Alberta goat trail.

[00:07:09]>> Where the is the road?

[00:07:18]>> Never a dull moment on this highway, eh?

[00:07:21]Back in BC, the storm front that hit last night has been battering the Cocaala all day.

[00:07:29]>> I guess what happened was they caught a fire in the cab and >> we're heading down the hill. Something going on.

[00:07:37]Somebody's done something. They shouldn't.

[00:07:42]>> So for the second night in a row, Alquiring is patrolling the mountain.

[00:07:48]>> A truck jack knifed. Somehow that uh had hit the center median cement no post knocked them out of place. How do you think a guy does this >> smoke inside all I can't see. Then I stopped the truck and take out key and park grateful and I jumped outside.

[00:08:07]>> The truck started rolling backwards out of control finally smashing into the concrete medium.

[00:08:18]Concrete blocks laying in two lanes of traffic in 120 km an hour zone. It's a recipe for disaster.

[00:08:25]>> All of a sudden, a dash fire.

[00:08:29]>> I could smell antifreeze in the air.

[00:08:31]Without a dash fire, you overheated.

[00:08:35]>> If a vehicle's on fire, one of the first things that happens is the electric short out and everything's gone. And in this case, the lights were still on.

[00:08:44]>> No, just a rat hose blew. overheated and blew the steam.

[00:08:49]>> Sometimes when there's smoke, there is fire, but sometimes when there's steam, it looks like there's fire.

[00:08:56]>> No fire. You should get retested with your license. You're a menace to the highway for jumping out of a truck without putting brakes on.

[00:09:03]>> With spunout trucks all the way up the hill, Al has no time to spare. He moves the truck out of the path of traffic and calls the trucking company to pick it up.

[00:09:15]Welcome to America's hottest talk line.

[00:09:17]Guys, hot ladies, I'm waiting to talk to you. Press two to connect free now.

[00:09:22]Ladies, press one now. Guys, press two now.

[00:09:26]>> We got some kind of a dating line here.

[00:09:29]Oh, you know what? I better get my eyes checked. I should have dialed 164.

[00:09:37]>> That sounds better. You got a three number.

[00:09:40]>> They might send up another tractor >> or they might send a tow truck to come and get you. But uh cuz I'm not going to be able to tow you out here tonight.

[00:09:50]Never heard of that happening here.

[00:09:53]Let's get back to that other number. Now wow.

[00:10:05]This is absolutely insane. Back in Alberta, after 4 hours in white out conditions, Colin arrives at the scene of the crash. A >> lot of money that's been sitting for a long time.

[00:10:18]>> And Jaime's most powerful record, the rotator.

[00:10:23]Highway 881 has been at a standstill since late this morning.

[00:10:40]Got logs all over the place.

[00:10:45]So hot that the the fire melted the aluminum tanks.

[00:10:51]What a nightmare.

[00:10:53]>> Everything just exploded almost like a bomb went off.

[00:10:58]It all falls to Jaime's new senior operator to get the job done.

[00:11:05]>> You get to that kind of a job, makes you shake in your boots a bit.

[00:11:09]>> So, I need him to step up his game. I need him to be the guy he can be.

[00:11:15]>> Wow, what an absolute disaster zone >> in northern Alberta. Got logs all over the place.

[00:11:28]>> New lead driver Colin Mlan is facing one of the toughest recoveries he's ever seen.

[00:11:35]>> So hot that the the fire melted the aluminum tank >> after a loaded fuel tanker collided with a logging truck.

[00:11:45]>> What a nightmare >> 6 hours ago. and close to 162.

[00:11:54]Accident.

[00:11:55]>> The trucks collided on Highway 881.

[00:12:01]>> Holy jeez.

[00:12:03]I ran over there.

[00:12:07]>> Sammy driver Venance Rashard was one of the first witnesses at the scene.

[00:12:12]And >> I saw one guy there was crawling over the lugs.

[00:12:17]He was in pretty bad shape.

[00:12:19]The guy was so wet of fuel, broken feet.

[00:12:28]The two injured drivers were airlifted out.

[00:12:32]Incredibly, both survived the crash.

[00:12:39]Wow, look at that frame. This is/2 in steel. It's even been reinforced with an inside beam as well, and it's just completely bent back. Probably explains why the motor's sitting over there, completely detached from the truck.

[00:12:56]One truck lost control, veering across the highway into the path of the second truck.

[00:13:04]The impact sent the tanker hurtling off the road and left the burning logging truck and its cargo blocking the highway.

[00:13:14]I'm on this highway all the time and I could have been one of these guys.

[00:13:20]I could have been the logging truck coming back with the tow.

[00:13:24]The truckers escaped with their lives, but a third driver didn't make it. A pickup following the tanker collided with the logging truck's cargo.

[00:13:35]The driver of the pickup died at the scene.

[00:13:42]It's the first thing that hits you.

[00:13:44]Somebody's passed away in the wreck and you're taken by that. And I don't care who you are. You get onto a job site, whether you're police or fire, that impacts you.

[00:13:56]>> This is one of the worst wrecks I've worked on in my 15 years of towing.

[00:14:07]850 mi southwest in British Columbia.

[00:14:11]>> Got to get it done.

[00:14:13]>> The storm has finally blown through, but it's left damage in its wake.

[00:14:18]>> We got a call from the RCMP to come attend a semi truck that's wiped out coming into Hope.

[00:14:28]>> John's heading to the Highway 3 and Cocaala Junction.

[00:14:33]So, the roads are a little slick. Uh, a little slippery.

[00:14:37]It's right there. We'll have to go up and around.

[00:14:41]>> Jaime's new recruit as lead driver in BC still has a lot to prove.

[00:14:47]>> I don't know if he's good, bad, or a superstar. I don't know.

[00:14:50]>> I'm here to do a job. My job is to keep the road open, keep trucks out of the ditch, and make the company money.

[00:14:56]>> Back the Tundra up.

[00:15:00]The trucker lost control and smashed his tractor into the ditch.

[00:15:05]>> I'm walking up to the wreck and I'm looking at it going, "Okay, it doesn't look too bad right now. It looks pretty good."

[00:15:12]As I get closer, I'm like, "Ooh, damn.

[00:15:16]Cab's ripped off."

[00:15:18]>> Since he joined heavy rescue, John's required backup from Jaime's brother Jason on his major recoveries, but not tonight.

[00:15:27]>> I don't have another truck coming to help me. I don't have guys with more experience. They're doing it for me. I got to prove myself right here, right now.

[00:15:35]>> With me being all over the map these days, I need these guys to hope to step up and get their game on and make things happen out in the field.

[00:15:45]>> All John's got to work with is an old 25 ton recorder, HR64.

[00:15:51]And his only help >> here, you hold the button, I'll pull >> is rookie swamper Philip.

[00:15:56]>> Now, just not too fast, man. Never too fast. Straight a little bit.

[00:16:05]>> I got to make sure I secure that cab before we climb into it. So that's my first objective is to get that cab back up and secured.

[00:16:24]Whoa. I'll try to put that back on.

[00:16:29]Okay, go ahead.

[00:16:31]>> If I pull this too much now, that cab could come right off.

[00:16:39]>> I think we're good. But all we could do >> John straightened out the cab. Now he must secure it.

[00:16:48]I'm just looking for a way to possibly secure this onto the chassis right now and then I could pull it up onto the uh road.

[00:17:01]I think if we uh throw a strap through and around >> Yeah.

[00:17:06]>> and ratchet it together.

[00:17:07]>> Where do you want to throw the strap over like right over the roof?

[00:17:10]>> No, through the doors. Oh, >> and then through the other side. We're both new to this team, but he's new to the heavy stuff. He's never towed heavy vehicles.

[00:17:20]>> Yeah. Right through the windows.

[00:17:21]>> Yeah.

[00:17:22]>> Both windows look open.

[00:17:23]>> Yeah.

[00:17:24]>> Oh, you uh >> I got you unrolled it.

[00:17:27]>> This way, right? Um take it out of the ratchet for now.

[00:17:32]>> What's that going to do?

[00:17:38]>> Tie that off. And we start pulling the truck out of the ditch.

[00:17:44]I'm pulling. And I'm pulling and something's not feeling quite right. So I stop.

[00:17:49]>> Hang on. Hang on.

[00:17:55]>> Sign.

[00:17:56]>> The wheels are caught on a highway sign mowed down in the crash.

[00:18:13]Still looks like a war zone.

[00:18:18]>> In Alberta, more than 6 hours after an explosive accident between a logging truck and a fuel tanker, the police investigation is finally over and the recovery is cleared to begin.

[00:18:35]We got multiple people from different companies getting everything all done and said, put together.

[00:18:42]It's going to be a while before we get this all cleaned up.

[00:18:46]An accident like this, there's kind of a picking order of how things happen.

[00:18:54]You have to have patience.

[00:18:57]They can go on and on and on and on.

[00:19:00]Okay, we have >> Last week, Colin made a critical error on a big job.

[00:19:06]>> I wish you would have shown me a picture of that.

[00:19:09]>> Assigning a junior driver to assess the wreck.

[00:19:12]>> We just wasted a whole day, wasted resources, wasted people's time.

[00:19:22]>> Today, he can't afford any mistakes.

[00:19:27]Just after 8:00 p.m. his first reinforcement arrives.

[00:19:31]>> Let them get all their stuff out of the way and then we can come in and do our job.

[00:19:35]>> Operator Johnny Tipton and 10 minutes later, Swamper Gourd rolls up in the flat deck.

[00:19:47]Their first job is the white pickup.

[00:19:52]She was just driving along following uh you know on her way to work or on her way home and uh yeah it's unfortunate.

[00:20:03]I've dealt with many fatal accidents in my career and they get to you but you just put them aside and carry on. Right.

[00:20:18]>> Okay. Well, what do you want to do, Gord? Pick her up right here with the deck. Get the wood out.

[00:20:23]>> Okay.

[00:20:24]>> But even the smallest vehicle in the wreck won't be easy to recover.

[00:20:30]>> There was logs everywhere.

[00:20:33]Absolutely everywhere.

[00:20:38]You look at that picture and you're like, where do I start?

[00:20:45]>> In northern Alberta.

[00:20:48]Can you pull that out? We'll wrap a chain around it and winch that log out.

[00:20:51]>> Yeah.

[00:20:52]>> Okay. Let's get in over here. Yeah.

[00:20:56]>> 8 hours after a deadly crash between a logging truck, tanker, and a pickup.

[00:21:01]>> Bit more.

[00:21:03]>> Lead Colin and swamper Gourd need to get the traffic moving.

[00:21:07]>> Go. You're good.

[00:21:09]Keep going.

[00:21:15]You look at the truck and just the carnage, you can see how quickly things can change for people.

[00:21:22]>> Everybody watch yourselves.

[00:21:26]>> Just a blink of an eye and they're gone.

[00:21:36]>> Get more.

[00:21:39]Okay, good.

[00:21:41]The pickup is off the road, but Colin's heavy work is just beginning.

[00:21:50]The logging truck and fuel tanker are completely destroyed. They can't be towed.

[00:21:56]>> They be using the rotator as a crane pretty much most of the night, picking stuff up and putting it on deck trucks.

[00:22:01]>> So Collins called a second flat deck to the scene.

[00:22:05]>> I'll come in here, pick it up, you just go right in underneath it. I'll drop it down. You're good to go.

[00:22:12]>> But he'll need Jaime's low bed trailer to cart out the bulk of the wreckage.

[00:22:18]And he's missing the final member of his team.

[00:22:22]>> Kelly Davis. Do you read me?

[00:22:26]>> Jaime's middle brother, Kelly, left Edmonton hours ago, fighting brutal conditions on the roads.

[00:22:34]>> Kelly Davis, do you copy?

[00:22:38]We have a job to do and we got to get it done.

[00:22:54]>> Hang on. Hang on. Hang on.

[00:22:55]>> Back in BC sign.

[00:22:58]>> Frustrating.

[00:22:59]>> It's a highway sign that he ran over and squished. New lead driver John is still trying to clear a demolished tractor at the entry point to the Cocaala.

[00:23:10]>> Every wreck is unpredictable.

[00:23:12]>> You can think, oh yeah, it's if I pull here, it's going to come this way. There could be a tree stump there. There could be anything there. You know, there could be a roadside stuck in the tires.

[00:23:25]I'm sitting there looking at it going, "Okay, now what? I don't have a chopsaw.

[00:23:30]Can't chop that out of there. If I damage the rear end, how am I going to get us back to the yard?

[00:23:39]>> I'm just going to keep yanking it out.

[00:23:41]>> His only option is brute force.

[00:23:47]>> Got to give eventually.

[00:23:52]>> It's going there. Went.

[00:23:56]>> It broke the sign free. Didn't damage anything else.

[00:24:00]Hang on, John.

[00:24:03]>> You made a good choice.

[00:24:06]>> Then we just kept pulling her out.

[00:24:08]>> With the RCMP eager to reopen the lane, John can't afford any more delays.

[00:24:17]>> Just like that.

[00:24:20]>> Hey, do you want the forks pointing inward or outward?

[00:24:24]>> They point in like that. But his only help is Phillip, a novice swamper.

[00:24:32]>> Now, how do I I go around the axle?

[00:24:34]>> Go around the axle and then come around with that piece and let me come over here.

[00:24:42]Okay, done.

[00:24:45]All right, come the fun part. Just before hauling away the wreck, John checks the air brakes.

[00:24:55]Damn. Got to do airlines.

[00:24:58]>> The airlines are severed, locking the brakes. In order to release them, John needs to hook up the compressed air from his truck.

[00:25:08]>> Looking for my air pieces for my for the air tank.

[00:25:12]Not sure exactly which uh bag I put them in.

[00:25:16]>> One tiny connector has brought the recovery to its knees.

[00:25:22]>> Where did I put it?

[00:25:27]I've been here for eight hours now and still haven't moved >> just south of Conklin in northern Alberta.

[00:25:35]>> Just wondering if they just opened up one lane or not yet. We just going through.

[00:25:41]>> Yeah, that'd be nice.

[00:25:43]>> Traffic on Highway 881 has been at a standill since noon.

[00:25:50]>> Yeah, guys, we're working on it. We're Cleaning it up as fast as we can.

[00:25:56]>> Those guys have been waiting for a long time. Get them out of here. They don't need to be waiting any longer.

[00:26:03]>> The fiery head-on collision has left a huge recovery for Colin Mlan.

[00:26:20]At this accident, nothing is told. Colum really has to just use low beds to get everything out of here.

[00:26:29]>> You on the air there, Kelly?

[00:26:31]>> Jaime's brother, Kelly, is on the way, fighting brutal conditions on the road.

[00:26:37]Colin needs his trailer to recover the destroyed tanker.

[00:26:40]>> Just it's been a long day. Oh, Rick, grab me that end right there.

[00:26:46]So he turns his team to the burnt out remains of the logging truck.

[00:26:51]>> I'm going to wrap the frame.

[00:26:54]>> Colin will have to lift the chassis up and onto the flat deck.

[00:26:58]>> It's a pretty dangle piece of mask.

[00:27:01]>> But there's almost nothing left holding it together.

[00:27:05]>> We'll see how that goes.

[00:27:10]Okay, we're good.

[00:27:15]Okay, we're going to do the blue line.

[00:27:24]White line.

[00:27:26]How we looking, Johnny?

[00:27:30]There might be some pieces that fall off.

[00:27:34]Any kind of bolt or crossmember that was holding anything in was probably weak.

[00:27:40]It was definitely fatigued.

[00:27:43]Hey guys, watch yourself. Back up.

[00:27:52]Hey, back up on Alberta's Highway 881.

[00:28:01]>> Can you pedal that down a bit? Pull tight on that.

[00:28:05]>> Heavy rescue is wrestling with a fragile, burnt out remains of a logging truck. Everybody watch their heads.

[00:28:14]>> Lead driver Colin needs to maneuver it onto the flat deck before any more debris comes loose.

[00:28:21]>> Watch yourself.

[00:28:25]Keep coming. Bit more. Bit more. Whoa.

[00:28:29]Right there. Right.

[00:28:34]Coming down.

[00:28:39]I'm holding it. You guys get her chain down.

[00:28:44]>> Traffic on the major route has been stuck for almost 12 hours. Okay. But the only way to clear the remaining debris is one piece at a time.

[00:28:56]>> Good.

[00:29:00]Hang on. Hang on. Coming down. Johnny, how are we looking? Johnny, you got that?

[00:29:18]She ain't going anywhere there.

[00:29:22]As the flat deck carts away what's left of the logging truck, heavy rescue faces the toughest part of the recovery, the fuel tanker deep in the ditch.

[00:29:33]>> 25 to 150. Are you there?

[00:29:36]>> They'll need the final member of the crew, Jaime's brother, Kelly, and his low bed.

[00:29:41]>> I need you up here in front of us.

[00:29:44]>> Holy Kelly, grab some gears, would you, buds?

[00:29:51]Time for cover elves and to get to work.

[00:29:56]>> In my whole entire life, I've never seen a tanker busted up or split up like that.

[00:30:03]Probably 60 ft off the road into the bush laying on its side. We just got to uh rig up to the unit and uh we'll be getting her tired.

[00:30:19]What do we got here?

[00:30:25]>> Handling a wreck and and going, you know, from start to finish can be a marathon and it can be hard on people.

[00:30:31]>> I don't know. What do you want? Yeah, >> you can become kind of delirious in some points in time in the wreck because it goes on and on and on.

[00:30:40]>> Head call.

[00:30:42]The plan is to position the rotator on the front of the wreck and the second wrecker at the back.

[00:30:49]They'll pull the tanker onto level ground and rerigg for their next move.

[00:30:58]But as Jaime's crew heads down to rig up, they find a new danger.

[00:31:03]>> Right now, we are sitting on top of 6,500 L of spilled gasoline soaked into the ground.

[00:31:09]You can smell it in the air.

[00:31:13]There's a strong odor of fumes here that can make you pass out.

[00:31:25]Back on BC's Highway 3, new lead driver John must unlock the air brakes on the wreck tractor before he can tow it home. So, all it would need to do is hook up into here >> and then plug into it and then open that up.

[00:31:43]>> Air brakes use compressed air to release and unlock the wheels, but the tractor severed its airlines in the crash. John needs to hook up to the supply on his record, but problem is hooking up to that piece.

[00:32:05]Looking for my air pieces for my for the air tank.

[00:32:11]He's missing a small but vital coupling.

[00:32:16]>> Where did I put it?

[00:32:18]>> If John can't release the brakes, he can't tow the tractor himself.

[00:32:26]>> For some reason, I can't find all my earpieces. If I had to call somebody else in, then it's not my wreck anymore.

[00:32:32]It's ours.

[00:32:35]>> John's only option. Jerry rig a connection out of his spare parts.

[00:32:43]>> Got some adapters here. I'm just making one up.

[00:32:46]>> The morning freight run on the Coke is now only an hour away.

[00:32:51]>> 90% of the stuff that you buy, eat, sell, whatever, is transported by a semi-truck.

[00:32:58]And having these trucks not being able to get to where they need to get to, it hurts the economy in a big way.

[00:33:05]>> You want to open the valve?

[00:33:07]>> Red line only.

[00:33:16]>> John's connection is leaking.

[00:33:20]>> Come on. You size do I need? Uh 20 mil. Not that one.

[00:33:29]>> Of course, police are sitting there waiting. They want to get this road open, and I want to do as best as I can, as fast as I can.

[00:33:35]>> There you go.

[00:33:37]>> That's it.

[00:33:45]>> Okay. Um, push that yellow button. Let's see what we got.

[00:33:54]How are we?

[00:33:58]>> We're good.

[00:34:01]>> The small pieces I'm going to throw up on the deck.

[00:34:03]>> Yeah.

[00:34:09]Got it all hooked up. We're ready to roll.

[00:34:13]Yes. Finally. I did my first wreck by myself. Well, with Philip's help. But no other truck. Nobody else to come and help.

[00:34:23]It's all mine.

[00:34:27]I just proved to Jamie Davis that I can do this.

[00:34:37]He's doing the work. He's getting the job done. But I'm not 100% sold on him just yet.

[00:34:49]On 881 in Alberta, lead driver Colin and Jaime's brother Kelly are working in a gasoline soap ditch to make the last recovery of the night.

[00:35:01]>> Here, I'll grab that, Colin.

[00:35:03]>> Oh, I just want to make sure we're tight here.

[00:35:04]>> Yeah, I'll do that. We're working hard.

[00:35:07]We're breathing. We're inhaling the stuff. So, we need to cycle in and cycle out.

[00:35:12]Fumes from the tanker are making it difficult to breathe.

[00:35:17]>> Go get some fresh air.

[00:35:18]>> The rotator is equipped with oxygen masks, but the crew is focused on the recovery.

[00:35:24]>> The guys, they were thinking about clearing the road, but they weren't thinking about the actual dangers to their own personal health.

[00:35:31]>> And as heavy rescue gets ready to drag the fuel truck up to the highway, >> the fumes pose a new threat.

[00:35:39]Big concern is that it's going to run over the charge of steel and the ground spark and then we've got fumes and then we got ignition. It's like a bomb.

[00:35:50]Okay. Bing after the worst accident so far this season.

[00:36:05]>> You can smell it in the air. Heavy Rescue needs to pull a battered tanker through a field of gasoline fuels.

[00:36:13]>> Oxygen, fuel, fumes.

[00:36:18]There's a possibility it's going to light up. That's going to be a big fire.

[00:36:25]>> With fire response standing by, the crew must pull the wreck slowly up the hill.

[00:36:34]If the jagged metal hits a rock >> be making a very bad day go worse.

[00:36:41]>> A single spark could cause major trouble.

[00:36:46]Much safer if you're over here. If it does blow up, you just get knocked down the hill. You don't get the shrapnel.

[00:36:59]Not liking that.

[00:37:10]Okay, that's good. Okay, Johnny.

[00:37:16]Nobody's on fire. No big explosions. So, so far so good.

[00:37:22]>> With the tanker finally on the side of the road, Colin needs to get it onto Kelly's low bed.

[00:37:29]>> You want to grab it off the inside of the frame?

[00:37:31]>> Well, I wonder if you got this.

[00:37:35]>> You got the controls and think that's your job. Think >> Colin also gets his first look at the bottom of the tanker.

[00:37:43]>> I don't think there's a straight part on the frame.

[00:37:47]Tore them right off.

[00:37:50]What are you thinking, Colin?

[00:37:51]>> I'm thinking why don't I just run one underneath the belly, too? Bring my boom up over.

[00:37:58]>> Yeah.

[00:37:59]>> Right. Yeah. Colin will rig a highline from the rotator to the underside of the tanker. The second wrecker will hook a highline to the rear. Together, they'll lift and rotate the tanker onto its wheels.

[00:38:14]Kell, are you on that side?

[00:38:17]Okay, just pull that through. Got it.

[00:38:21]Give it a couple feet.

[00:38:43]But the plan will only work if the tanker stays in one piece.

[00:38:55]That truck is fatigued to the point where it's ready to fall apart.

[00:38:59]Stop. Stop, buddy.

[00:39:07]Colin, what?

[00:39:10]You're ripping the tank off of the frame. It's already ripped off the stream, but the axles aren't coming off the ground. I see it.

[00:39:22]He's trying to pick it up from this side, trying to do a deadlift on it.

[00:39:26]>> But the axles have ripped away from the chassis and are digging into the ground, so the truck can't roll over.

[00:39:33]>> Can we get a chain on those and suck those axles in?

[00:39:37]>> Basically, I've got a suspended load of about 10,000 kg, but I still need to get a chain and a line onto those axles. After hours of exhausting work and intense pressure, Colin makes a risky call, letting Johnny crawl under the wreckage.

[00:39:56]>> It is Colin scene, and I respect that.

[00:39:59]But there is a safe way to do that. Go around the backside of the wreck, hook up the axles, throw the chains underneath the load. You don't risk yourself under a load ever.

[00:40:12]Get out of there, Johnny.

[00:40:16]Stop. Stop. You're ripping the tank off of the frame. It's already ripped off the frame, but the axles aren't coming off the ground.

[00:40:24]>> It's 400 a.m. on Highway 881 in northern Alberta.

[00:40:28]>> Can we get a chain on those and suck those axles in?

[00:40:33]>> Exhaustion and pressure to get the road open are weighing on the crew. Safety is really the number one issue on any accident scene, on any job that we handle. You don't risk yourself under a load ever.

[00:40:46]>> But eager to finish the job, Colin and driver Johnny take a big risk crawling under the suspended load.

[00:40:54]>> Colin wanted to spin it and throw another line to it. And that put him in harm's way.

[00:41:00]>> No, no. Go on the outside. I'll do them both at once.

[00:41:03]>> Just get in there, put the chain on, and and get out. Colin wants to do the best job possible, but puts himself in jeopardy quite a bit. Right.

[00:41:17]>> Get out of there. Nobody saw that.

[00:41:21]Get out of there, Johnny. Get out of there.

[00:41:29]Okay, just let me pull the axles in.

[00:41:37]If Colin can't get the axles back in place, he won't be able to set the tanker down on the low bay.

[00:41:45]Are they coming in at all?

[00:41:52]There we go, baby.

[00:41:55]Okay, Johnny, set your head down a bit.

[00:41:59]>> Okay, hang on.

[00:42:00]>> But one of the axles is still digging in. So Colin goes under the tanker again and reriggs the chain.

[00:42:10]>> Hang on. Just relax. Oh, >> give me that.

[00:42:31]Lay your line out, Johnny.

[00:42:40]>> This thing is just starting to piss me off.

[00:42:46]>> Nice.

[00:42:46]>> Thank you.

[00:42:49]>> It worked after all.

[00:42:52]>> Did you see that? That was beautiful.

[00:42:56]There's a reason we changed the trucks out within 5 years, but it's important to have topline, you know, frontline equipment that'll do this job. Keeps the guys safe. The final task, lift up the tanker and back in Kelly's low bed underneath.

[00:43:13]>> Guys, watch yourselves.

[00:43:19]>> The rigging needs to hold long enough.

[00:43:22]>> Here's your boy, Chad. Strat, don't let me down.

[00:43:25]>> For Kelly to back under the tanker.

[00:43:28]>> Come on, Kelly. Get him in there, would you, buds?

[00:43:34]>> Tell me when, Colen.

[00:43:36]Keep him coming.

[00:43:39]As long as he's underneath it, I can put it on him now. Keep them coming.

[00:43:45]Keep them coming.

[00:43:47]Watch yourself.

[00:43:50]Whoa, hold.

[00:43:55]>> Johnny, let her down, bud.

[00:43:59]>> Perfect. Couldn't even have done it better myself, Colin.

[00:44:04]>> We got everything that we were supposed to do loaded up.

[00:44:08]Nobody's hurt. All the equipment still working.

[00:44:11]>> Despite a few risky moves, it's a big victory for Colin to see traffic moving on Highway 881.

[00:44:20]My level of confidence in Colin has increased twofold over last year. He's handling bigger jobs and he's evolved into a lead guy.

[00:44:32]>> Feeling good.

[00:44:35]>> Yeah, it's dangerous, but it's what I do, right? I run heavy record.

[00:44:41]It's something I love to do.

[00:44:45]>> Have a good night. Drive safe.

[00:44:50]Next time on Highway Through Hell.

[00:44:54]>> This one's going to be a challenge.

[00:44:56]>> Five wrecks in one. When a semi plows off a bridge.

[00:45:00]>> How the hell did he do that?

[00:45:02]>> Stranding holiday travelers.

[00:45:04]>> You be careful.

[00:45:05]>> And forcing Jaime's newest driver.

[00:45:08]>> I hope John can pull us off.

[00:45:10]>> To take on a raging river.

[00:45:12]>> John up.

[00:45:13]>> Go up.

[00:45:14]>> With his recovery falling apart. Heat.

[00:45:32]Heat.

[00:45:58]was