ATASCADERO, Cali. (DDN) – Hazmat crews were dispatched for a major crash Thursday morning, resulting in a lengthy cleanup near Old Stagecoach Road at the bottom of the Cuesta Grade. The incident caused hours of delays on southbound Highway 101.
According to the CHP, two trucks were involved, one of which rolled, spewing approximately 75 gallons of diesel into the road.
According to the CHP, drivers Gary Brennan and Jerell Cryer needed to be rescued from their trucks. Both were sent to Sierra Vista Regional Medical Center with serious injuries.
Students on their way to class at Cuesta College were among those caught in traffic; they claim they were at a complete standstill for hours.
“Traffic was like building up all the way from Atascadero,” Paso Robles resident Jacob Santangelo said. “We were only sitting there for two hours. “Like, dead stop, no movement.”
On Thursday, shortly before 6:45 a.m., there was a crash at the bottom of the Cuesta Grade. One of the two vehicles involved overturned, spewing approximately 75 liters of diesel into the road.
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Cal Fire Hazmat and the local Environmental Health Agency both responded. The spill was cleaned up and removed off the road at midday. According to officials, none of the gasoline came into contact with habitats or bodies of water that could have caused harm.
The sudden standstill in traffic and the closure of two lanes nearly resulted in more accidents.
“It’s really wild when you go from three lanes to one lane in a short amount of time,” Atascadero resident Carter Paisano explained. “That was something that was a little wild because the bus driver had to quickly get over the all the way to the left.”
The cause of the crash is being investigated.
Reference: Car crash on Cuesta Grade backs up traffic during rainy Thursday morning commute
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