Three people were killed and one other person was critically injured when an SUV collided with a semi truck that was parked on the shoulder of a California interstate.
The incident happened around 1:20 a.m. on Thursday, February 28, on I-80 in Emeryville, California.
A family of four siblings ranging in age from 17 to 26 were driving westbound on I-80 near the Bay Bridge toll plaza area when their vehicle veered to the right, leaving the roadway “for unknown reasons” and colliding with a semi truck parked on the shoulder of I-80, according to a news release from the California Highway Patrol (CHP).
#Emeryville #Oakland – I-80 WB After I-580 – A van crashed underneath a big rig. The 2 right lanes are blocked by CHP. Photo Credit: @CaltransHQ #KCBSRadioTraffic pic.twitter.com/XUI9tfpuCG
— KCBS Radio – The Traffic Leader (@KCBSAMFMTraffic) February 28, 2019
When police arrived at the scene, they found the SUV “trapped underneath the big rig.”
The 24 year old SUV driver and his two sisters died in the crash. The other brother, who is 17, was transported to the hospital for treatment of critical injuries.
The truck driver was not hurt.
CHP admits that the SUV may have been driving too fast on a wet roadway, but they also say that the semi truck should not have been parked on the shoulder of the interstate.
The CHP’s Herman Baza explained to CBS San Francisco, “The driver of the big-rig had pulled over to get some rest. Apparently, he was sleeping when the collision happened.”
The CHP says that it is illegal to park on the shoulder of the interstate for anything other than an emergency. The truck driver was ticketed for illegal parking.
The truck driver told police that he had pulled off onto the shoulder to sleep because he was almost out of available drive time and did not want to violate Hours of Service regulations.
The driver could have continued to the next exit and looked for parking near the Port of Oakland, but local tuck driver Oscar Sanchez says that finding available truck parking is almost impossible at times. “Sometimes you come here on the weekends. and you’ll find people that come from out of state sleeping in the middle of the street because there’s no parking,” he said.
So far, the truck driver is only facing a parking ticket, but CHP says that it is still investigating and that more charges could follow.
For more on the crash, see the report below.