One truck driver is dead after another driver fell asleep at the wheel in California on Wednesday.
The accident happened on August 21st at 12:30 a.m. on Highway 89 in Siskiyou County, California near the border with Shasta County.
According to Record Searchlight, the 72-year-old trucker was at the wheel when he started to fall asleep and drifted off the road. The semi truck then sideswiped a tree, waking the driver, who tried to regain control but overcorrected. The truck then went down an embankment and into more trees. The truck came to a stop with the cab in the woods, while the trailer was left blocking the southbound and northbound lanes of Highway 89.
The 72-year-old driver was not seriously hurt in the accident. 32-year-old Amrit Pal Singh, who was sleeping in the back at the time of the accident, was critically injured in the accident. He was transported to a nearby hospital where he died of his injuries just a few hours later.
The accident is still under investigation. Anyone with information about the incident is asked to call the sheriff’s office at 530-225-5551.