Tractor-trailer spills load of demolished cars, blocking westbound traffic on Interstate 80
It looked like mass chaos or a scene from an action movie on westbound Interstate 80 in Vacaville, but an accident involving a big rig Thursday afternoon was already, well, flat.
That’s because an overturned tractor-trailer closed all lanes of traffic, the California Highway Patrol said. The CHP also said only one vehicle was involved: the tractor-trailer. Its load, which officials said spilled across the roadway, was crushed cars, about 15 to 20 of them.
CHP says the crash happened around 3 p.m. when the truck overturned east of Cherry Glen Road. When the truck fell over on its passenger side, it spilled out the salvaged cars, making it seem at first that multiple vehicles were involved. At least eight tow trucks were dispatched, according to CHP traffic logs, which came in handy as the cleanup process began.
CHP said no other cars traveling along the road were involved in the crash, and no injuries were reported.
A photo posted on social media by CHP’s Solano division shows the yellow tractor-trailer turned on its passenger side with the already-flattened vehicles tossed about near the right shoulder.
Shortly before 5 p.m., CHP’s Solano division posted a tweet reporting that 3 lanes had re-opened.
Before the lanes were re-opened, traffic was being diverted at Lagoon Valley Road and significant backups were seen on Caltrans cameras and maps, leading back beyond Leisure Town Road. Surface streets including Peabody and Vanden roads, and Air Base Parkway were very congested, according to Caltrans maps.
The CHP and Caltrans were advising San Francisco-bound motorists to use alternate routes, including Highway 113 in Dixon to Highway 12.
Significant backups were also appearing on eastbound I-80 from beyond Highway 12 in Fairfield.
This story was originally published February 21, 2019 at 4:26 PM.
