Santa Clarita / Antelope Valley : Truck Overturns, Closes Freeway : Safety: The CHP says the driver lost control on the Golden State. Three lanes were closed for three hours.
Four southbound lanes of the Golden State Freeway near Pyramid Lake were closed for about three hours late Monday and early Tuesday after a truck driver hauling 78,000 pounds of coffee fell asleep at the wheel and lost control of the vehicle, authorities said.
After the accident, which occurred about four miles south of Hungry Valley State Recreation Area, the 65-foot tractor-trailer rig lay on its side, blocking the roadway from the center divider to the shoulder.
One southbound lane was closed for 11 hours as coffee was loaded onto a replacement vehicle. None of the packaged coffee spilled, California Highway Patrol Officer John Manduca said.
The truck’s driver, Willie James Davis, 42, of Vallejo, was not injured, authorities said.
The accident occurred about 10 p.m. Monday when Davis fell asleep and his truck drifted to the right shoulder, where it struck an abandoned vehicle, Manduca said.
The crash, which crushed a 1984 Buick, also tore off the truck’s front axle, and the truck turned over on its side, Manduca said.
Authorities were able to clear three of the freeway’s four lanes by 1:40 a.m. Tuesday, freeing traffic that had backed up about a mile. The fourth lane was reopened at 9 a.m., Manduca said.
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