Santa Clarita / Antelope Valley : Truck Flips, Runs Off Side of Hill Above Mobile Homes

A semi trailer truck driver and the residents of a mobile home park narrowly escaped disaster Wednesday when the truck flipped and went off the side of a steep hill above the homes, coming to rest without causing serious injuries or damage.

The accident occurred when the brakes on driver Gene Gable’s semi trailer truck failed about 6 a.m. on Soledad Canyon Road, on a hill above the River’s End Campground and RV Park just east of Santa Clarita, California Highway Patrol Officer Wendy Moore said.

Authorities closed the road between Santa Clarita and Agua Dulce for more than 10 hours while the wreckage was cleared, Moore said. The winding two-lane road is often used as an alternate to the Antelope Valley Freeway.

Power was shut off in the trailer park for about 2 1/2 hours because electrical lines above the truck had to be removed, Moore said.

Gable, 37, was navigating a sharp corner, going about 20 m.p.h., when the rear brakes on his trailer locked, said Mike Longmore, a friend of Gable’s who was driving behind him. Longmore said the truck smashed against a hillside on the right side of the road before flipping and taking out about 160 feet of guardrail on the left side.

“I thought he was going to stay on the guardrail when all of sudden the guardrail broke loose and the truck disappeared,” Longmore said.

The roof of the trailer carrying 35,000 pounds of electrical supplies ripped apart as it slid down the 100-foot hill, coming to rest just a few feet above a storage building at the park.

“I was sleeping and I heard an explosion,” said Yvonne Hawkins, 39, a resident at the park. “I thought the mountain was coming down.”

Gable, who was wearing his seat belt, was able to climb out of the truck with Longmore’s help. He suffered only some scratches.

Debris caused minor damage to the storage shed and to one mobile home.