Truckers Work Together To Help Injured Driver Trapped In Crash On I-80
SIERRA (CBS13) — Three crashes involving big rigs snarled Sierra traffic for most of Tuesday evening.
Many of these truckers are modest and humble about what they do. We spoke with one off-camera who comforted one of the injured drivers while he waited for help to arrive. It's a brotherhood, and many say they have each other's backs.
Param-jit Singh was three trucks behind a chain-reaction collision on I-80 near Nyack involving three big rigs and two box trucks on Tuesday. Singh started recording as fellow drivers and a paramedic ran to the rescue. The rescuers tried to break the window glass and rescue the driver who was seriously injured and trapped.
"Five, six guys came out at that time and tried to pull him out," Singh said.
He said other truckers pulled out fire extinguishers to help until emergency personnel arrived. Singh, who only has two years of experience on the road, says he was impressed with what he calls a brotherhood.
"I really seen how they are loyal to each other or how good they are to help each other out like this. It was really nice," Singh said.
The pileup was the result of an earlier crash involving a tractor-trailer that left two other people seriously hurt. CHP Officer Chris Nave said, "It was sideways across the freeway blocking the whole thing."
The eastbound and westbound lanes of I-80 were shut down while crews cleaned that one up. Altogether, the interstate was snarled for more than six hours.
Troy Miller said, "The whole right side was lined with semis, basically 20-30 miles back."
Miller hails horses. He was stuck for eight hours and says this off of the roadway can be dangerous. "It can get a little slick up here, especially with all the traffic that goes here, there's pretty good ruts," Miller said.
CHP is still investigating what caused the crashes, but they remind drivers to slow down on slick roadways. For Singh, It's a reminder of the dangers of the job and just how precious life is.
"It makes me appreciate life more and the people around me," he said.
Another crash involving a tractor-trailer at Rollins lake late in the afternoon just made matters worse. But no serious Injuries there.
