VENTURA : Overturned Big Rig Disrupts Freeway

A big rig carrying a load of mail overturned Wednesday morning, causing the closure of part of the Ventura Freeway in Ventura for five hours, disrupting traffic and adding as much as an hour to some commuters’ drives, authorities said.

“It’s the biggest problem we’ve had in the last couple years,” said Lt. Steve Bowman, who is in charge of the Ventura Police Department’s traffic division.

Six officers were tied up for five hours directing traffic on surface streets near the freeway, Bowman said.

The problems began about 4:45 a.m. when Dan Reese, who was driving the 60-foot truck, tried to pass another big rig southbound on the Ventura Freeway, a California Highway Patrol spokeswoman said.

As Reese pulled back into the far right lane, the wet road caused the trailer to swing toward the shoulder of the road and ultimately slip off the embankment, she said.

The trailer rolled onto its left side and came to a stop two-thirds of the way down the freeway embankment, the spokeswoman said.

Reese, 35, of Los Angeles was not injured, authorities said.

His passenger, Margaret Hanley, 37, of Los Angeles sustained minor injuries but declined medical aid, CHP Officer Jim Utter said.

Authorities decided to wait to haul the big rig up until the morning, Utter said.

At that time, the three lanes of the southbound freeway were closed, as well as the southbound on-ramp at Victoria Avenue and the on-ramp at Main Street and Telephone Road, Utter said.

The far left lane of the freeway was opened periodically to let cars through until 11 a.m. when the lane opened permanently, he said.

The rest of the southbound lanes were cleared at 1:40 p.m., Utter said.

It took a long time to lift the trailer and tow it away because the big rig was heavy and the grade where it had fallen was steep, authorities said.