April 29, 2007

Holy shit

Luckily, it was about four of a Sunday morning and no one else was injured.

Roadway to Bay Bridge collapses after tanker explosion

A tanker carrying unleaded gasoline exploded early this morning, causing 250 yards of roadway to collapse near Emeryville. The driver walked away from the incident and took a taxi to a nearby hospital where he is being treated for second-degree burns, according to the California Highway Patrol.

California Highway Patrol officer Trenton Cross said he believed that speed was a factor in the tanker crash, which caused roadway on Interstate 580 at Interstate 80, located near Emeryville to be completely destroyed. The tanker explosion caused the upper deck of a connector ramp to collapse onto the lower deck, according to a California Highway Patrol dispatcher.

Interstate 580 is closed approaching the Bay Bridge, according to the dispatcher.

The dispatcher said eastbound Interstate 80 to eastbound Interstate Highway 580 collapsed after heat from the tanker explosion on the westbound Interstate 580 at Interstate 80 rose and melted the upper roadway.

Yeesh. Walked away from the explosion and grabbed a taxi to the hospital.

Posted by Ken S at April 29, 2007 07:59 AM | TrackBack (0) |
Comments

Dayum. We had a nearly identical incident here just the other day. Driver died in that one.

Despite the headline, there's no reason to believe that the shortcut actually caused the crash. He was just where he shouldn't have been. It didn't collapse the overpass, but it did ruin the roadway underneath, causing the pavement to "turn back into gravel", according to yesterday's story.

You could use a link there, by the way, Ken.

Posted by: Angie Schultz at April 29, 2007 11:22 AM

i hate to say this.. but as they have no idea why it happened, is it possible it more than an accident.... although I suppose in that case, the driver would have tried to die....

Posted by: caltechgirl at April 29, 2007 11:50 AM

I doubt it. Just one of them things, I think. I added the link to the story (thanks Angie!), they have a couple of pics of the damage to the overpass.

Posted by: Ken S, Fifth String on the Banjo of Life at April 29, 2007 02:25 PM

"The driver walked away from the incident and took a taxi to a nearby hospital..."

I don't get that, it seems kind of weird. The cops showed up, right? Did he leave the scene before they got there?(if so, isn't that illegal? or wouldn't an ambulance be there pretty quick?)

Hmmm...or maybe the CHP were pissed and all "If you're going to burn down the interchange then you can just catch a cab to the hospital, mister". Or is the Bay area like "Mad Max", except the taxi drivers all race to accidents instead of the tow-truck drivers?

Enquiring minds want to know.

Posted by: Dave E. at April 29, 2007 02:38 PM

I think it's permissible to leave the scene for emergency medical reasons, and no doubt the guy was in shock, so I suspect the police will be inclined to accept it as reasonable. An ambulance might have been quicker than a cab but if he didn't get a chance (or have the presence of mind) to call one, it was probably just as quick to have the cab take him there.

In the absence of any other information, I'll just accept it for what it looks like, a bad accident.

Posted by: Ken S, Fifth String on the Banjo of Life at April 29, 2007 03:00 PM

I'm sure it was just an accident. The non-smartass part of my brain figures they treated him at the scene and since he refused transport, let him take a passing cab.

But that part of my brain bores the heck out of the rest.

Posted by: Dave E. at April 29, 2007 03:42 PM

HEY! Is this the *second* time in history that fire melted steel??

Posted by: Julie at April 29, 2007 04:20 PM

Julie - third - we had an almost identical accident on the I-95 corridor a few years back:

"On March 26, 2004, a bridge on I-95 in Bridgeport, Connecticut was partly melted by the explosion of a tanker truck carrying over 11,900 gallons (45,000 liters) of fuel oil. Repairs were estimated to take at least two weeks, but the highway was opened to northbound traffic in only a few days. Southbound traffic resumed using a temporary bridge about a week later."

Somehow, I don't think that there is a temproary bridge big enough to replace the Bay Bridge.

Posted by: John at April 29, 2007 06:46 PM

Near as I can tell, the bridge itself is unaffected, only one access ramp. They were trying to reroute that particular section but I haven't heard anything new since this morning. I'll let you know what I hear on the traffic reports tomorrow.

Posted by: Ken S, Fifth String on the Banjo of Life at April 29, 2007 07:14 PM

Considering that the driver had 2nd degree burns, I'm willing to cut him slack for hailing a cab to get to the hospital.

I'm guessing that the cab happened to be right there, on the scene, and so, would have been faster than an ambulance.

Posted by: ricki at April 30, 2007 05:05 AM