Even more traffic is taking to California roads as summer approaches, and with the increase comes more dangerous and deadly incidents involving semi-trucks. One of those recent truck crashes had a darker element, with investigators saying that the accident was set off by the driver of a passenger vehicle who intentionally crashed into a vehicle in front of him, which then collided with a semi-truck, killing one person.
Numerous other fatal truck crashes took place around the state as May came to a close, raising concerns about what could be a particularly dangerous summer on California roads.
Police Say Fillmore Truck Crash Was an “Intentional Act”
May 31, 2018
A fatal Fillmore truck crash took a strange twist when police announced that they believed a 30-year-old man purposely caused the incident.
The accident occurred on May 31, 2018, at approximately 2:24 p.m. Eduardo Robles, who was traveling westbound in a gray Honda sedan in the Mountain View Street area, collided with a car in front of him. The second vehicle then lost control and veered in the eastbound lanes, where a semi-truck hit it. Officials pronounced the driver and sole occupant of that car dead at the scene.
The Ventura County Sheriff’s Office said in a press release on June 1, 2018, that they had arrested Robles for murder and attempted murder. Officials initially took him into custody on suspicion of DUI, but the press release said that investigators had learned the deadly accident was caused on purpose. It went on to say that Robles intentionally sped up and hit the vehicle in front of him from behind.
A passenger who was in the car with Robles was injured in the Fillmore truck crash and treated at an area hospital. Officials did not say what information, if any, they had learned from the passenger. The semi-truck driver was also injured in the accident and treated at an area hospital.
Ventura County Sheriff’s Office officials booked Robles on one count of murder as well as one count of attempted murder. He is currently being held at the Pre-Trial Detention Facility in Ventura, and his bail is set at $700,000.
Head-On Collision with Big Rig Kills Teen in Brentwood
June 4, 2018
A 17-year-old Petaluma girl succumbed to injuries sustained in a multi-vehicle crash on Vasco Road in a rural area of Brentwood in Northern California. Emily Alarcon-Reyes was one of four people transported to area hospitals after the accident and was taken by medical helicopter to John Muir Medical Center in nearby Walnut Creek, where she was pronounced dead about an hour later.
Reports have not clarified how Alarcon-Reyes was involved in the truck crash, which happened at approximately 2:22 p.m. on Vasco Road south of Walnut Boulevard.
California Highway Patrol (CHP) investigators say that they believe a 20-year-old man driving a 2016 Jeep Compass north on Vasco Road was attempting to pass when he pulled into the path of an oncoming tow truck. The Jeep and truck collided head-on, and the Jeep was sent flying from the road, eventually landing in a grassy field. The Jeep then caught fire, and the flames spread to the grass surrounding it. The tow truck came to a stop blocking Vasco Road traffic from both directions.
A 21-year-old male passenger in the Jeep sustained major injuries and was taken by medical helicopter to Eden Medical Center but is expected to live. The condition of the Jeep’s driver is unknown. The tow truck driver did not sustain significant injuries. It is unclear whether Alarcon-Reyes was in the Jeep, tow truck or another vehicle.
Budweiser Truck Overturns in Sherman Oaks, Injuring One and Spilling Beer
May 27, 2018
The King of Beers made a royal mess on the transition between the eastbound 101 Freeway to Ventura and the southbound 405 Freeway to San Diego. A big rig transporting Budweiser overturned while on the transition road at approximately 3:20 p.m. and spilled beer onto the roadway.
The big rig was the only vehicle involved in the crash, and officials have not said what caused it to overturn. The driver, who has not been identified, sustained injuries and was treated at an area hospital, according to a spokeswoman with the Los Angeles Fire Department.
Emergency personnel closed the transition road for over seven hours as they worked to investigate the incident and clear the scene.
Two Big Rig Incidents on I-80 Leave One Dead
May 25, 2018
An early morning truck crash on Interstate 80 in the Crockett area played a role in a second truck crash in the area that left a man dead.
The first accident involved a 29-year-old Hayward man driving a 2013 Volvo Freightliner who careened into a divider between Interstate 80 and the Pomona Street offramp and overturned. The semi-truck caught fire after the impact, and witnesses pulled the big rig driver from the truck before he was seriously injured.
Debris from the accident and an investigation into the incident brought traffic to a halt in the area, and, at approximately 3:54 a.m., a 67-year-old Fairfield man driving a 1999 Toyota Camry through the traffic collided with the rear of a big rig stopped for the traffic, according to CHP.
First responders gave the unidentified man CPR before he was transported by air to a hospital in Vallejo, but officials reported him as deceased at 5:28 a.m.