Big Rig Driver Killed After Truck Hits Freeway Bridge Pillar In Sylmar
SYLMAR (CBSLA) — A big rig driver is dead Thursday after apparently losing control and hitting a bridge pillar holding up a 210 Freeway transition road in Sylmar.
The crash happened at about 11:45 p.m. Wednesday on the southbound 5 Freeway's truck route near the 210 Freeway in Sylmar. The area is frequently traveled by big rig trucks because an 8-mile stretch of the 5 Freeway is fed into by the 210 Freeway, and feeds out into the 14 Freeway.
A truck carrying grapes and other produce was headed south on the 5 Freeway's truck route near the 210 Freeway transition when the driver somehow lost control.
"Truck drifted to the left and struck the bridge pillar, which carries the westbound 210 to southbound I-5 transition road," California Highway Patrol Sgt. Jonathan Yochim said. "At that point, the grapes in the truck shifted, they came forward, and as a result of the collision, there was one person trapped in the truck."
The driver and the passenger, who were trapped in the cab, had to be cut out. The 51-year-old driver was pronounced dead at the scene, and the 61-year-old passenger was taken to a hospital with serious injuries.
Caltrans has inspected the bridge pillar and found no damage. The transition road has since been reopened.
SIGALERT UPDATE IN SYLMAR: SB I-5 AT I-210 - #5 AND 6 LANES BLOCKED FOR ONE HOUR AND TRUCK ROUTES FROM SB I-5 TO EB I-210, SB I-5 TO SB I-5, AND SB 14 TO SB I-5 ALL BLOCKED FOR AN UNKNOWN DURATION DUE TO A COLLISION - ALL TRUCKS DIVERTED TO EB I-210
— CHP PIO - LA County (@CHPsouthern) July 18, 2019
The cause of the crash is under investigation.