Highway 50 in Folsom blocked for hours by cattle-truck crash

Highway 50 in Folsom was fully reopened Tuesday evening, about 8 hours after a pickup truck collided with a big-rig cattle hauler, sending the empty livestock truck into an overpass abutment.

The crash of the big rig and pickup occurred about 10 a.m. on eastbound Highway 50 at East Bidwell Street. Several lanes of the highway were closed much of the day. The California Department of Transportation reported all lanes open at 6:30 p.m.

California Highway Patrol spokesman Officer Tommy Riggin said the three left lanes on the highway were still blocked as of early Tuesday afternoon. The right onramp lane and shoulder were open, allowing traffic to move past the crash scene. As of about 4:15 p.m., the No. 1 lane remained closed for guardrail repair.

A fire department crew was called in to pump diesel fuel from the tanks of the big rig before it could be towed away.

A CHP website reported that about 12 gallons of oil spilled into a storm drain.

Riggin said wet pavement was a factor in the crash. He said that as the pickup entered the freeway, the driver spun out on the onramp, sending him into the eastbound lanes of Highway 50.

The pickup struck the cattle truck in the right lane, sending the big rig into the bridge abutment for the East Bidwell Street overpass in the center of the freeway.

“The pickup driver came on at speeds unsafe for the roadway conditions, spun out and hit the side of the big rig,” Riggin said. “Injuries are lacerations on the face of the big rig driver and a complaint of pain to the pickup driver.”

This story was originally published January 3, 2017 at 10:37 AM.