A northbound lane was temporarily closed today when a trucker lost control of his tractor this morning and spilled 10 tons of apples onto highway 101 just south of Sonoma.
At 8:30 a.m. Robert Urbins, 55, a trucker from French Camp, CA, was hauling apples from Marysville to Sebastopol when he lost control of his tractor. The tractor was connected to two flatbed trailers that held 24 full apple containers.
Urbins said he was negotiating a section of uneven pavement along the partially repaved highway just south of Petaluma near Kastania Road when he heard a cable snap. The rear flatbed began “whipping”and scattering apples.
The accident caused a mist in the air that made the roads rather slick and that added to the hazard after the apples spilled. The mess has severely impacted the morning commuted and has cause and extremely sticky mess. CHP officer Wayne Ziese said, "We've got applesauce all over the highway."
Crews arrived at 9:45 a.m. to begin cleaning the mess. Apples are covering the highway for about 200 to 300 feet. Additionally, some of the fruit landed nearly 1,000 feet away along the shoulders and median strip.
Ziese said, "Right now, we've got apples piled two feet high on the roadside, and crews out here with brooms and shovels."
According to Ziese there are no injuries but a motor home that was travelling behind Urbins sustained damage.
Urbins, who says he was travelling at 55 mph, was given a citation for the mess that will likely cost several hundred dollars. His lawyer called the jury’s award “excessive” and plans on appealing the verdict.
Urbins hauls for Broadway Transportation in Stockton.
Good lead! Just capitalize Highway 101.
ReplyDeleteP2 - Slip in the time later in this sentence, not at the start.
* French Camp, Calif. (AP)
* spell out CHP on first reference
P4 - Fact error. The accident didn't cause the mist, though the mist may have made the road more slippery. Reread the fact sheet.
0/20 - fact error, please revise for credit