Big Rig Driver Injured in Crash
Driving a big rig truck can’t be an easy job. You have long hours and of course always have a extra large truck and trailer. You’re always traveling and have a million reasons to be distracted to make the time go by faster. Of course, most of the time the big rig drivers are the most conscientious drivers on the road.
When a big rig crashes any time it’s scary and a lot of clean up work is required. Plus, there’s always a good chance that someone is seriously hurt or worse.
Luckily, for one big rig driver, he only had minor injuries in a recent crash on Bystrum Road. The crash happened after exiting Highway 99 on Tuesday morning. The big rig hit a water pump which was next to a Ceres fire station. The crash ended up rupturing the diesel tanks, but the water supply luckily wasn’t tainted.
Big Rig Driver Only Has Minor Injuries
According to a local official, the big rig driver was able to escape the crash with only minor injuries. The truck had went off the northbound Highway 99 between Ceres and Modesto and just missing the Ceres Fire Station No.2 by just inches. The crash did end up spilling some diesel fuel.
The local reports said that the crash happened around 7:30 in the evening. The driver had crashed into an electrical box and a well pump. According to the Ceres Fire Department Capt. Jeff Serpa, the driver also plowed into a firefighter’s parked car.
According to Capt. Jeff Serpa, the crash ended up rupturing two diesel fuel saddle tanks. One of the tanks was actually torn from the truck and ended up spilling all of it’s fuel. The other tank lost about half of it’s diesel. There were around 150 gallons of diesel spilled at the time. All that diesel was mixed with the water coming from the broken well pump.
Serpa’s Statment:
What worked in our favor was that all the runoff was contained in the detention pond at Aeron Street and Pecos.
Luckily the pump was backfeeding from wells in the area. So that meant that no diesel got into the wells. There is a valve underneath the street that had to be shut so that none of the water supply was contaminated. There was only a brief interruption to the neighborhood’s power and water supply.
California Highway Patrol got involved in the incident, just after the crash they taped off the area. They also warned people that the water that was flowing from the pump might have been “electrified”.
Serpa said that the crews were being very cautious about the fact that the water might have been electrified. At least until TID (Turlock Irrigation District) was able to show up and determine if it was safe or not.
Fire Station Without Power Due to Big Rig Crash
At the time of the crash the fire station was luckily empty. The crews were out on a call. The station would be without power until the big rig was finally moved out of the way. The fire station would still be in service though.
Local Agencies Work Together:
Agencies working together at the scene included the Ceres and Modesto fire departments, the California Highway Patrol, the Stanislaus County Sheriff’s Department, TID, the state Department of Environmental Resources and the Stanislaus County Office of Emergency Services.
The reports show that the driver had only minor injuries but was still taken to the hospital by ambulance just to be on the safe side. The police aren’t quite sure what caused the crash though.
The truck was hauling 40,000 pounds of almonds. Luckily the trailer was still intact and the trailer had no spill or fire damage.
Rainy Roads Cause Fatal Collision
Rainy roads are always something to be cautious of. No matter what the temperature outside rainy roads are always dangerous. You can hydroplane or someone else can be going to fast and spin out causing a crash. There’s just always something that can go wrong.
According to reporter, Kevin Yamamura an overnight rain and early morning drizzle cause several spinouts and a fatal collision on Interstate 5.
The crash was just one of the many that happened on the freeways that morning. There was also a crash on the I-5, which was close to the Sacramento International Airport. That crash involved a car and two big rigs. That crash caused traffic to move slow and slowed people down who were trying to catch flights.
The Sacramento County Coroner’s Office was able to identify the victim. The victim in the big rig crash was 18 year old, Javier Gonzalez.
The big rig crash happened around 5:15 in the morning. According to reports, Gonzalez’s car was parked and all of the lights were out when the crash happened that morning.
The big rig and the Honda car ended up int he center divider. They think that the car might have been involved in another crash just before being hit by the big rig.
Daniel A. Gibalevich
DAG Law Firm
