![]() He (the driver in front) had squished a passenger car." He saw brake lights from the truck in front of him. "All of a sudden, the visibility dropped down to 50 feet," he said. Halling said he was northbound with a load of swimming pool supplies. Traffic on an 8 1/2-mile stretch of I-5, California's main north- south artery, was diverted onto rural and suburban roads through the night as authorities examined the wreckage under the glare of portable floodlights.Ĭaptain Dave Ritter of the CHP said investigating and clearing the highway would require "an extended closure."ĭrivers said the accident occurred when they suddenly entered a bank of fog a few minutes before sunrise. But the word "fatal" had been written in chalk on its cab. The wreckage included a diesel fuel tanker, which was not carrying a load and did not explode. The smoldering, mangled vehicles jammed the freeway in a twisted mass of steel, aluminum, rubber and glass. Its flames, which sent thick columns of dense black smoke into the sky, apparently were fed by an estimated 700 gallons of fuel that spilled from the ruptured tanks of trucks and cars. "It was like Vietnam, with all the explosions going off," said truck driver Herb Halling, who lost his rig to the blaze. Police and rescue crews closed I-5 in both directions, and the freeway was not expected to open until after today's morning commute.Īt one point, 64 fire trucks filled the southbound lanes, their crews fighting the fires in the adjacent northbound lanes. "All I can tell you is that the child probably died before the fire got to the vehicle," said Elk Grove Fire Chief Mark Meaker. Last night, coroners officials identified the child "A woman was crying that her baby was still in the car." "We got three people out, but we couldn't get near the flames again," said truck driver Gary Simpson. The hulks of burning trucks were fused by the heat to the crushed cars, forming a grotesque frieze of death and destruction. The pileup sparked explosive fires with flames so intense that aluminum trailers and tires on many vehicles melted. occurred in the northbound lanes of I-5 in rural Sacramento County, about 12 miles south of the state capital. "All I can say is the look on the man's face when I was able to break that windshield and get him and his kids out of that vehicle was all the thanks I needed," he wrote in a June 17 Facebook post. "I'm glad I was able to help.Twenty-six people were injured, 23 of whom were taken to hospitals, some by helicopter. In the meantime, he's just happy that he was able to help. "Our desire it to make it right."ĭeAnda has already begun the appeal process and is waiting on a response from the district. "There is a mechanism for appealing this, a mechanism for making this right," McLaughlin told CBS Sacramento. Thankfully, though, DeAnda can appeal the bill by writing a letter to the district chief that explains the situation. "He should bill the first responders since he was the first responder and he was doing their job," one commenter even posted.Ĭosumnes Deputy Chief Mike McLaughlin tells CBS Sacramento that, though DeAnda's situation is unique, issuing first-responder bills is just standard practice for his district. "We're obligated to provide the same level of service, the same billing, the same everything - for every patient we encounter," he said. ![]() data-width="800"Ĭommenters on CBS Sacramento's Facebook page overwhelmingly agree with DeAnda and believe the charges are absurd. Play icon The triangle icon that indicates to play
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |