Stricken Big-Rig Driver Dies in Crash
A truck driver seen slumped over the steering wheel of his big rig as he drove was pronounced dead Wednesday after his truck plowed into a tree, knocked down a traffic signal and rammed a Buena Park office building, police said.
Police said it appeared the driver lost control of his truck while in the midst of some kind of seizure, though the cause of his death remained unclear.
Identified only as a 53-year-old Los Angeles resident, the driver was taken to La Palma Intercommunity Hospital, where he was pronounced dead, said police Sgt. Chris Nunez.
The driver, towing an empty 53-foot trailer, was headed south on Valley View Street about 7:30 a.m. when the truck jumped a median, swiped a tree, crossed over the opposite traffic lanes, knocked down a traffic standard and crashed into a building, Nunez said.
Employees were arriving at the headquarters of Corru-Kraft Co., a corrugated cardboard manufacturer, but none was injured.
Police said the man appeared to lose control of the truck as he experienced medical distress.
“We don’t know if he had a seizure or heart attack but the investigators believe that was the reason [the driver lost control],” Nunez said.
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