UPDATE: Rig that lost excavator blew steer tire

Some details surrounding a tractor trailer that lost its load, killing a nearby motorist on Wednesday afternoon, have been released. 

The California Highway Patrol says that the truck driver, a 62-year-old man from Arroyo Grande, was driving north on Highway 101 south of Willow Road when it blew a steer tire. The blow out caused the driver to lose control of the truck, which sent it crashing into a guardrail. That impact knocked the excavator it was hauling from the trailer and sent it crashing 30 feet down an embankment, where it landed on top of a car stopped on the off-ramp, killing the motorist inside. 

That motorist has since been identified as 60-year-old Pyong Yun Song. The truck driver also sustained injuries in the wreck described only as “complaints of pain” but further details on their condition have not been released, reported ABC 3.

CHP is still investigating and urges anyone who witnessed the incident to contact CHP Officer Mallory at 805-594-8700.