California police say that a truck driver lost his life after crashing into a freeway bridge support.
The crash was reported just before midnight on Wednesday, July 17 near Sylmar, California, according to CBSLA.
Authorities say that a truck was hauling produce southbound on the 5 Freeway when the truck driver swerved off of the roadway and collided with a bridge pillar.
California Highway Patrol Sgt. Jonathan Yochim described the crash:
Truck drifted to the left and struck the bridge pillar, which carries the westbound 210 to southbound I-5 transition road. At that point, the grapes in the truck shifted, they came forward, and as a result of the collision, there was one person trapped in the truck.
The crash left both the truck driver and a passenger trapped inside the cab of the semi truck.
The truck driver was pronounced dead at the scene. The passenger had to be extracted from the wreckage and was taken to the hospital for treatment of serious injuries.
The cause of the crash is still under investigation.
The incident resulted in multiple lane closures and major traffic backups were reported.
SIGALERT UPDATE IN SYLMAR: SB I-5 AT I-210 – #5 AND 6 LANES BLOCKED FOR ONE HOUR AND TRUCK ROUTES FROM SB I-5 TO EB I-210, SB I-5 TO SB I-5, AND SB 14 TO SB I-5 ALL BLOCKED FOR AN UNKNOWN DURATION DUE TO A COLLISION – ALL TRUCKS DIVERTED TO EB I-210
— CHP PIO – LA County (@CHPsouthern) July 18, 2019