Hello grant & All,

>A semi load of approximately 300 hives on pallets overturned on I-55 in
Southeast Missouri, a first for our local emergency responders.

450 is the least number if a full load.

>Several beekeepers came to assist.  The driver didn't survive and was
pulled from the wreckage.

Did the truck have a bee co. name on it ? If so please email.

>For those of you who have witnessed such an accident, how did they go
about getting everything settled?

Two things will happen.

1. insurance co. now owns those hives. Too far for us but you can arrange to
buy the load from the insurance co but get everything in writting. Bell Hill
Honey bought the KC area wreck which made CNN>

2. The beekeeper did not have the load insured. If so most likely he will
want the hives.

THERE IS ONLY ONE METHOD TO SET THE LOAD UP WITHOUT DAMAGING THE HIVES. GET
A WRECKER WITH AIR BAGS! Get the OK to wait for the wrecker. Even if has to
come from St. Louis or Memphis.
The bees will be fine laying on the side. Once up right then the trailer can
be moved or the skids transfered.

Trying to set the load up with chains or cables will result in having to
handle each box by hand.

Myself and another beekeeper might be interested in buying the load from the
insurance company and working the load but our bid will be low because of
distance. Where on I55 is the load exactly? Only three beekeepers in
Missouri I know of capable of handling such a load.

Besides us there is Delta Bee in the bootheel. I can contact Neal Bergman if
need be.

 How can we local beekeepers help?

If a dumb --- wrecker driver destroys the boxes trying to upright then the
whole load will need to be unloaded mostly by hand.

What happened with the last load in KC. A large crew spent four days and
partial nights and still the city soaped a bunch of pallets (which belonged
to Bell Hill Honey ). The load was bought from the insurance Co. by Bell
Hill Honey.

What's next?
Either the insurance co. or the person which owns the hives will have to
decide what's the next course of action. Myself and business partner are
only interested if we can bid on the damaged load.
Too far to bring three trucks and two swingers plus help for 4-5 days. We do
have experience in semi wrecks.

The highway patrol & the insurance co. may decide to simply kill the bees
which most likely will ruin the equipment. Bring in large trash containers
and have a huge loaders load the remains and send to a land fill. Will
happen if the beekeeper or insurance company does not provide a solution to
the wreck.

Contact me directly Grant if needed. I will be gone tommorow and Sunday in
the day. Leaving town Monday for a couple days. These plans can be changed.

Sincerely,
Bob Harrison
.


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