Mechanical failure is likely to blame in a deadly accident that saw a truck crash into a California restaurant, killing the driver. From eyewitness reports of the accident, the driver was doing all he could to control his vehicle before it crashed into a restaurant and burst into flames, taking his life.
The accident occurred at around 8:20am in Pittsburg, California. According to Marvin Doldol, an eyewitness whose vehicle was hit by the out-of-control truck, the driver seemed to be trying to control his rig, and was honking his horn and flashing his lights to try and warn people to get out of the way. The driver even guided it in between two vehicles that were waiting at a stop light.
“He tried to somehow go between us. He did everything he could,” said David Gardner, who was driving to work when his vehicle was hit by the truck.
Unfortunately, though the driver was able to keep his rig enough in control to save the lives of those around him, he lost his own when he crashed in to the empty restaurant and his vehicle was consumed in flames. The fire was so intense that it consumed the truck, the restaurant, and a neighboring business.
Police are looking for signs of mechanical failure.
Next Story: Train Derails After Hitting Stuck Truck, 55 Injured
Source: abc, ktvu, contracostatimes, sfgate, abc
I wonder if the trucker hero story will ever be updated with what was wrong with the truck and how large the fines are to the company?
The weekly newsletter is a round-up of the top stories that were circulating in the trucking industry during the previous week. If a follow-up makes the news, it’ll get another look. If you want to be the first to know about updates to the story, I suggest reading the sites that originally reported this story, which are linked to at the bottom of the article.
Very sad to hear.
But I can’t think of what the problem might have been that pulling the brake valves could not have help lessen the end result.
Mike
I did some googleing….. and it don’t look good for the company: http://abc7news.com/news/fatal-pittsburg-big-rig-accident-could-have-been-prevented/562131/
Sadly it does sound like one of them companies that would not take care of their equipment. But I question the drivers that are driving them. How could one get in and take off with the knowledge that they are driving unsafe equipment?
These dirt trucks are probably the worst maintained trucks on the road, the trailers hes pulling look like a very old set of Cooks bottom dumps.
If you were there you can speculate all yo want but the only one who really knows how and why is gone, at least till the truck gets inspected.
As for pull the trailer valve, they do not give you ore stopping power, they apply full brakes, which also can mean the loss of steering if they lock up.
My condolences all that lost someone in this tragic accident.