NICE — A gust of wind caused a big-rig truck to tip over Friday morning on Highway 20 near Robinson Rancheria Resort.
The driver and solo occupant of the truck, Allen Class, of Bandon Ore., said he was driving west on Highway 20 when the truck tipped over. He said he believed the cargo trailer, which was empty, was the first to tip over and take the rest of the truck with it. The 18-wheeler tipped over to the right side of the road and did not cause damage to any other vehicles.
“Never had anything like that hit me,” Class said.
Class, 62, said the wind was not “too bad” until he got to the area where the truck tipped over. There was nothing he could do to avoid the crash, he added.
Authorities were cautious when trying to upright the truck, California Highway Patrol Officer Erich Paarsch said, because of a possible leak in the fuel tank. Police considered draining the fuel tank before uprighting the truck to prevent a spill, but it was later determined it was safe to do so without draining the tank.
Class, who said he is planning to retire on Christmas after being a driver for 17 years, said he left Ukiah Wednesday morning and was headed to the city of Weed.
Traffic was directed to one lane while the area was cleared.
Isaac Brambila is an associate editor for Lake County Publishing. Reach him at 263-5636 ext. 37 or at ibrambila@record-bee.com.
