Posted: Friday, August 7, 2009 9:21 am

A Sunday morning car accident was described as a situation that could have been much worse by Tennessee Highway Patrolman Kenny Callahan.
Callahan said Martin-resident Antonio G. Rico was very lucky when his vehicle struck the natural gas gate station off of Hwy. 431 between Martin and Union City.
Rico was heading toward Martin early Sunday morning when a deer crossed his path causing him to swerve and overcorrect his vehicle, according to Callahan.
Fortunately, no one was injured during the incident and according to the trooper, the situation could have been much worse.
Martin Public Works Director Billy Wagster reiterated the statements made by Callahan. Wagster said while the damage was estimated in the several thousands of dollars, the accident resulted in a very small leak.
“Luckily, there were no major gas leaks. The electronic controls were damaged, but we did not experience any outage of service for Martin or Union City,” Wagster said.
The gate station is a part of a larger pipeline system that runs from the Gulf of Mexico through Tennessee and flows north.
Wagster said the main gas lines hold anywhere from 500 to 700 pounds of pressure at any given time.
“If he would have hit the main line, you’re looking at roughly 700-pounds of gas. Because natural gas rises, the flames would have shot straight up,” Wagster added.
The public works department had spent two days at the site assessing damage and conducting minor repairs. Wagster said the bulk of the structural damage was to the fencing of the station.A technician was on the scene Wednesday repairing the electronic controls.
Rico was not cited in the accident, according to Callahan, who said the incident was just an accident.
WCP 7.30.09