Tanker Truck Crash Kills 5; Driver Held
Four men and a 9-year-old girl were killed and 14 others were injured Sunday when a milk tanker truck plowed into a pickup truck and two Caltrans vehicles at a roadside cleanup by community service workers, officials said.
The driver of the tanker truck, George Schappman, 36, of Manteca was arrested on suspicion of drunk driving after he was treated for minor injuries at a San Leandro hospital.
Schappman faces charges of felony drunk driving and five counts of vehicular manslaughter, California Highway Patrol spokesman Mitch Mueller said.
The 80,000-pound tanker truck was on Interstate 880 and apparently veered onto the shoulder about 9:15 a.m., striking a pickup truck parked behind a Caltrans van and bus, Mueller said.
The force of the collision punched the van into the back end of the bus, Mueller said.
The 9-year-old Hayward girl in the pickup died at the scene. The driver of the pickup was critically injured and was taken to San Leandro Hospital, Mueller said.
The four others who were killed were picking up trash as a part of court-ordered community service.
Two people were critically injured. Others received minor injuries and were taken to area hospitals.
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