There were no injuries in an evening accident on U.S. 101
Tuesday, California Highway Patrol Officer Chris Armstrong said,
but the incident snarled northbound traffic for several hours.
Morgan Hill – There were no injuries in an evening accident on U.S. 101 Tuesday, California Highway Patrol Officer Chris Armstrong said, but the incident snarled northbound traffic for several hours.
Neither driver was charged in the two-vehicle accident, which ignited a fire on the side of the road. The drivers were not under the influence of alcohol or drugs, Armstrong said.
German Diaz, 27, of San Diego was driving a Freightliner tractor, pulling two trailers behind it, and Antonio Jimenez, 37, of Gilroy was driving a Ford pickup. They were traveling northbound on the highway just south of East Middle Avenue at approximately 6:30pm. Although it was cloudy, the roadway was dry, Armstrong said.
It was not clear from the investigating officer’s report exactly how the accident occurred, he added, but he believes the tires of the tractor trailer began to burn, and Diaz attempted to stop the big rig and pull to the side of the road. One of the trailers flipped on its side, but Armstrong said it’s not clear if the pickup caused the trailer to flip when it crashed into it or whether Jimenez’s truck crashed into the trailer after it turned over. The pickup had front end damage, Armstrong added.
Several northbound lanes of U.S. 101 were closed to traffic for nearly an hour while officers cleared the roadway.
