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Interstate 80 reopens after big rig pileup

David Bunker
Sierra Sun

Eastbound traffic on Interstate 80 was closed east of Truckee for more than three hours Wednesday morning after four tractor trailers crashed on a bridge east of the California Highway Patrol scales.

Both lanes of eastbound traffic re-opened at 10 a.m., after authorities pulled two of the big rigs, which were dangling off either side of the bridge, from the roadway.

Crews also had to clean up diesel fuel that leaked from a ruptured fuel tank, according to CHP officer Steve Skeen.



“There wasn’t a whole lot of diesel, just enough to make a mess,” said Skeen.

The environmental health department was on scene to evaluate whether any fuel drained into the Truckee River, said Skeen.



One driver was taken to the hospital with minor injuries, said Skeen.

The accident, which occurred around 6:30 a.m., was caused by the tractor trailers driving too fast on slick, rain-soaked roads, Skeen said.

“When we get these first rains, people drive a little too fast and we get problems,” Skeen said.

When the trucks were cleared from the roadway by large wreckers, traffic that had backed up along the interstate since the 6:30 a.m. closure finally began to disperse. Many other vehicles had already turned around at the Prosser Village Road exit on the interstate.

Although two of the tractor trailers overturned, and their trailers were ripped open during the accident, their loads of carpet and windows did not scatter across the interstate, Skeen said.

Skeen warned drivers to slow down because roadways are still slick from the rain.

” Sierra Sun Staff Reports


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