HOPLAND GRADE – Highway 175 over the Hopland Grade was shut down for several hours Tuesday afternoon and into the evening as officials cleaned up the roadway following a loaded lumber truck tipping over.
The big rig had tipped over and gone down an embankment around 3 p.m., according to the California Highway Patrol. The two occupants of the vehicle escaped without serious harm.
CHP officers at the scene said the truck driver had been cited at around 2:30 p.m. for being on the winding highway, on which large semis are prohibited.
They were escorting the truck down the hill on the Lake County side when, about three quarters of a mile from the county line, the truck wasn't able to smoothly negotiate a turn and its back end dropped off the road. That caused the entire rig and trailer filled with lumber to flip over, the CHP reported.
Lake County Sheriff's deputies, emergency medical personnel and Caltrans – the latter taking control of closing the road – also responded to the scene.
The driver was uninjured although a juvenile in the truck's sleeper had a minor head injury, according to the CHP.
Willits Towing responded to remove the truck and to clean up the lumber spill, CHP reported.
CHP said the highway was closed from 3:45 p.m. until 8 p.m. to allow for the roadway to be cleared.
E-mail Elizabeth Larson at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..
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