Interstate 80 in Placer County has fully reopened hours after a propane truck crashed and posed a safety risk, officials said.The crash happened around 2:25 p.m. near the Heather Glen off-ramp, the California Highway Patrol said. Eastbound lanes opened around 8 p.m., but crews weren’t able to open westbound lanes — the side of the freeway where the tanker crashed — until closer to 8:45 p.m.Part of the reason for the closures was because of leaking propane from the truck, CHP said. The Placer County sheriff said it asked people to evacuate within a quarter-mile radius of the crash.The driver of the truck was ejected from their seat and life-flighted to Sutter Roseville Hospital with major injuries, CHP said. Because the driver was ejected, CHP believes the driver was not wearing a seatbelt. The driver had exited I-80 from the Heather Glen off-ramp, CHP said.According to witnesses who spoke with CHP, the driver was going 40 to 50 miles per hour when he tried to turn left onto the overpass. Instead, his truck went down the embankment on the other side of the overcrossing, landing onto I-80.”There’s a possibility there could have been a medical emergency with the driver, so we’re looking into that,” CHP Officer David Martinez told KCRA 3. “It’s uncommon for somebody to try to take a turn like that, at that speed, especially driving a tank like that.”Traffic maps show eastbound congestion at its worst was at least three miles long, going from near Clipper Gap to Shady Glen, north of Colfax. LiveCopter 3 captured the efforts in moving some of the big rigs out of traffic. Drivers were asked to drive their big rigs into reverse, slowly backing up into the Weimar Road exit. From there, they were directed into a side road. To help reduce traffic congestion while lanes were closed, road crews diverted motorists in both directions toward earlier exits so they could avoid the crash scene, which posed explosion concerns because of the leaking propane. The truck involved in the crash was from Campora, which gave KCRA 3 no comment in regards to the crash. CHP said when its officers arrived, there were about 600 gallons left in the truck, which can hold up to 1,200 gallons.KCRA 3’s Brittany Hope spotted a second tanker from Campora arriving at the scene around 6:10 p.m. The truck was used to transfer the remaining propane from the first tanker before towing it from the crash scene.The transfer process is described by CHP as a risky maneuver because of the hundreds of gallons of flammable fluid being moved. Follow our interactive traffic map.
Interstate 80 in Placer County has fully reopened hours after a propane truck crashed and posed a safety risk, officials said.
The crash happened around 2:25 p.m. near the Heather Glen off-ramp, the California Highway Patrol said. Eastbound lanes opened around 8 p.m., but crews weren’t able to open westbound lanes — the side of the freeway where the tanker crashed — until closer to 8:45 p.m.
Part of the reason for the closures was because of leaking propane from the truck, CHP said. The Placer County sheriff said it asked people to evacuate within a quarter-mile radius of the crash.
The driver of the truck was ejected from their seat and life-flighted to Sutter Roseville Hospital with major injuries, CHP said. Because the driver was ejected, CHP believes the driver was not wearing a seatbelt.
The driver had exited I-80 from the Heather Glen off-ramp, CHP said.
According to witnesses who spoke with CHP, the driver was going 40 to 50 miles per hour when he tried to turn left onto the overpass. Instead, his truck went down the embankment on the other side of the overcrossing, landing onto I-80.
“There’s a possibility there could have been a medical emergency with the driver, so we’re looking into that,” CHP Officer David Martinez told KCRA 3. “It’s uncommon for somebody to try to take a turn like that, at that speed, especially driving a tank like that.”
Traffic maps show eastbound congestion at its worst was at least three miles long, going from near Clipper Gap to Shady Glen, north of Colfax.
LiveCopter 3 captured the efforts in moving some of the big rigs out of traffic. Drivers were asked to drive their big rigs into reverse, slowly backing up into the Weimar Road exit. From there, they were directed into a side road.
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To help reduce traffic congestion while lanes were closed, road crews diverted motorists in both directions toward earlier exits so they could avoid the crash scene, which posed explosion concerns because of the leaking propane.
The truck involved in the crash was from Campora, which gave KCRA 3 no comment in regards to the crash. CHP said when its officers arrived, there were about 600 gallons left in the truck, which can hold up to 1,200 gallons.
KCRA 3’s Brittany Hope spotted a second tanker from Campora arriving at the scene around 6:10 p.m. The truck was used to transfer the remaining propane from the first tanker before towing it from the crash scene.
The transfer process is described by CHP as a risky maneuver because of the hundreds of gallons of flammable fluid being moved.
Follow our interactive traffic map.