TEUTOPOLIS, Ill. (WCIA) — The family of a teenager hurt in Friday’s HAZMAT disaster in Teutopolis has hired nationally renowned civil rights attorney Ben Crump to represent them.
Crump’s office announced his services in the case of Anja Dangelmaier on Thursday. Dangelmaier, an 18-year-old from Texas, was driving through Teutopolis the night of Sept. 29 with three fellow freshmen at the University of Missouri. The students, all members of the Mizzou Swim Club, were heading to Ohio State University for a swim meet when they were caught in the aftermath of a crash involving a tanker truck carrying anhydrous ammonia.
Dangelmaier and her teammates were unable to escape the toxic cloud of ammonia that leaked out of the crashed tanker, and all four are in the ICU with chemical burns. Three others were hurt, and five others died in the disaster.
“This chemical spill cost five people their lives and required that five others were airlifted to the nearest hospital. We are demanding an investigation into the accident that caused this catastrophic crash, and accountability from the driver and the trucking company for their negligence,” Crump said in a statement. “Anja is in the ICU with severe chemical burns to her lungs, eyes, and most of her body. This young woman was trying to make it to a swim meet with her teammates, and instead faced a tragedy that will forever change her life.”
Crump is nationally known for representing African American families in civil rights cases, notably the families of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor and Trayvon Martin, among others.
