Resting co-driver killed when driver falls asleep at wheel

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.