Burning big rig stops traffic on Highway 50, causing major delays

A crashed big rig that caught fire on eastbound Highway 50 near 48th Street in Sacramento blocked all lanes in that direction and two westbound lanes Wednesday morning.

All lanes in both directions of Highway 50 were reopened by 12:55 p.m., Caltrans said in a tweet.

CHP spokesman Jim Young said the big rig was struck by a sedan. The truck veered to the left and hit the center median, and the big rig tractor, but not trailer, caught fire, Young said. Emergency personnel responded just after 10 a.m.

“Luckily the driver of the big rig was able to exit his vehicle” and was transported to a local hospital with minor injuries, Young said. No other injuries were reported, he said.

Young said Sacramento Fire Department crews responded and extinguished the big-rig fire.

“The fire is completely out,” he said.

The six main lanes, plus one exit-only lane, were shut as emergency personnel responded, Caltrans reported on Twitter at 10:25 a.m.

One post to Nextdoor said the big rig jackknifed.

This story was originally published October 3, 2018 at 10:48 AM.