The Region - News from Oct. 22, 1985

A rig loaded with huge rolls of paper slammed into a hay truck on Interstate 15 north of Baker, setting off an explosion that engulfed both vehicles in fire and killed the driver and passenger in the paper truck. The inferno, which burned for five hours, melted the asphalt and left a gaping hole in the roadway, the California Highway Patrol said. Witnesses said the hay truck was going down the 19-mile Baker grade at a normal speed when the tractor trailer rig loaded with paper rear-ended it at 75 to 80 m.p.h. Dense smoke caused the CHP to shut down the southbound lanes of the highway, the main artery between Los Angeles and Las Vegas. Traffic was diverted to one northbound lane. The driver of the hay truck, George Bertrand, 43, of Bakersfield, suffered only minor injuries. The unidentified driver and passenger in the paper truck were burned to death. Their rig was registered to Schneider National Transportation Inc. of Green Bay, Wis., the CHP said.