Tanker Truck Crash May Snarl San Francisco Area Commutes for Months

At 3:41 AM on Sunday, a tanker truck crashed and burned at the intersection of three freeways, causing the collapse of an overpass.  This will likely  snarl commutes for hundreds of thousands of people for months until repairs can  be completed.  California officials are urging residents to shift to public transit and telecommuting due to the effect on area commuting.

The tanker carrying 8,600 gallons of gasoline ignited around 3:45 a.m. after crashing into a pylon on the interchange, which connects westbound lanes of Interstate 80 to southbound I-880, on the edge of downtown Oakland about half a mile from the Bay Bridge’s toll plaza.A preliminary investigation indicated he may have been speeding on the curving road.  Flames shot 200 feet in the air and the heat was intense enough to melt part of the freeway and cause the collapse, but the truck’s driver walked away from the scene with second-degree burns.

The tanker driver left the scene before police arrived, by crawling out the truck’s passenger window and walking down the ramp to a gas station.  He worked the past 10 months for a South San Francisco trucking firm. He apparently took a freeway ramp from westbound I-80 to southbound Interstate 880 too fast.  Details of his driving record were not immediately. His employer was involved in a June 2006 crash in Vallejo that sent about 4,000 gallons of diesel into storm drains. In that case, a double tanker overturned on a ramp connecting I-80 to I-780.

The Shigley Law Firm  represents plaintiffs in wrongful death and catastrophic injury cases statewide in Georgia, and in other states subject to the multijurisdictional practice and pro hac vice rules in each state. Ken Shigley was designated as a “SuperLawyer” in Atlanta Magazine and one of the “Legal Elite” in Georgia Trend Magazine. He is a Certified Civil Trial Advocate of the National Board of Trial Advocacy, Chair of the Southeastern Motor Carrier Liability Institute and former chair of the Georgia Insurance Law Institute. He particularly focuses on cases arising from truck wrecks and accidents (tractor trailers truck wrecks, semi truck wrecks,18 wheeler truck wrecks, big rig truck wrecks, log truck wrecks, dump truck wrecks. catastrophic injury cases statewide in Georgia, and in other states subject to the multijurisdictional practice and pro hac vice rules in each state. Ken Shigley was designated as a “SuperLawyer” in Atlanta Magazine and one of the “Legal Elite” in Georgia Trend Magazine. He is a Certified Civil Trial Advocate of the National Board of Trial Advocacy, Chair of the Southeastern Motor Carrier Liability Institute and former chair of the Georgia Insurance Law Institute. He particularly focuses on cases arising from truck wrecks and accidents (tractor trailers truck wrecks, semi truck wrecks,18 wheeler truck wrecks, big rig truck wrecks, log truck wrecks, dump truck wrecks.