Truck Dumps Pet-Food Load After Hitting Car Parked on Freeway

A tractor-trailer dumped its load of pet food after crashing into an abandoned car on the Santa Ana Freeway about 4 a.m. Wednesday, backing up traffic for 10 miles during the morning commute, said a California Highway Patrol official.

The accident in the southbound lanes scrambled traffic for more than five hours, and drivers seeking alternate routes caused jam-ups on California 91 and nearby surface streets. Caltrans crews not only had to right the truck, which blocked all three of the traffic lanes, but also had to clean up a load of pet food that had burst from its packaging, Officer Lyle Whitten said.

The driver of the double-trailer truck, 24-year-old Ammon Helton of Stockton, was carrying the dry pet food--dog, cat, rabbit, horse and other animal feed--from Stockton to an unknown destination. He suffered head and hip injuries and is listed in stable condition at Western Medical Center-Santa Ana.

The accident occurred at 3:45 a.m. near the southbound Lincoln Avenue off-ramp, where a 1988 Suzuki, apparently stolen, was left parked with the lights off in the far right lane of the freeway, Whitten said.

“The driver of the truck was apparently going about 60 m.p.h. around the curve and never had time to hit the brakes,” Whitten said.

When officers arrived to investigate the accident, they found a small mongrel dog tied to the seat of the car. The dog was uninjured and was taken to an animal shelter in Orange.

Investigators at first were puzzled because the car’s owner was not around, the keys were in the ignition and officers could not determine if it had run out of gas or if the car had engine problems.

Police later determined that the car is registered to a woman in San Bernardino. However, a person named Carlos Solano, whose address is unknown, called police Wednesday to report the car stolen.