Truck Crash, Chemical Spill Close Interstate 5

All four lanes of Interstate 5 were closed to traffic Friday after a big rig carrying more than 4,000 pounds of dangerous chemicals overturned just west of Kettleman City.

About 15 miles of the major north-south artery were closed shortly after 5 a.m. when a Viking Freight big rig carrying hazardous materials overturned after striking another vehicle.

The truck driver, 69-year-old Gerald Brown, apparently drifted onto the right shoulder of the southbound lanes and hit a vehicle parked on the side of the road, according to the California Highway Patrol.

The unidentified people in the parked vehicle had just walked away from their car when the big rig slammed into it, and they escaped injury. Brown was hurt when his truck flipped over. He was eventually taken to Kaiser Permanente Medical Center in Fresno, where he was listed in fair condition Friday afternoon.

The double-trailer rig was on its way from Sacramento to Whittier and was carrying three dangerous chemicals, according to Viking officials and the CHP. A small amount of one of them spilled on the roadway.

The big rig was hauling 3,200 pounds of flammable dichloromethane; 730 pounds of carbonate pest liquid; and 175 pounds of a chemical called NOS solid, which is considered an environmental hazard, according to the CHP.