MENDOCINO COUNTY ? A logging truck ran into a Toyota Prius and then a rock embankment, spilling 80 to 100 gallons of diesel fuel on the dirt shoulder about 9:45 a.m. Wednesday on Highway 101 in Mendocino County, California Highway Patrol said.
Nobody was injured in the collision that involved three vehicles, Officer Erik Van Emmerik of CHP stated. He said a logging truck hitting a car is “usually a recipe for fatalities.”
Miner Trucking cleaned the diesel from the dirt shoulder, Van Emmerik said.
Christina Servin, 26, of Stockton was driving north in a 2005 Dodge Grand Caravan with Eduardo Servin, 27, a 4-year-old and a 1-year-old passenger, all of Stockton, CHP reported. Julie Van Alyea, 34, of San Rafael was driving north behind Servin in a 2010 Toyota Prius. Servin and Van Alyea slowed for a car that was turning left in front of them.
Jeffrey Miner, 33, of Covelo didn”t slow down and rear-ended the Prius, which then struck the rear of the Grand Caravan, CHP reported. Miner then hit the rock embankment.
“Luckily the spill wasn”t on the river side, it stayed on the east dirt shoulder,” Van Emmerik said.
CHP doesn”t think alcohol contributed to the collision. Van Emmerik said Miner may have been driving too fast for the conditions.
JCJ Salvage & Recovery, the Laytonville Fire Department and CalTrans assisted CHP at the scene. Van Emmerik said diesel spills aren”t explosive like they are in movies.
“It doesn”t happen, rarely,” Van Emmerik said. “Usually diesel is not quite as flammable as regular gas. It”s not as exciting.”
Contact Katy Sweeny at ksweeny@record-bee.com or call her directly at 263-5636, ext. 37.
