- Elizabeth Larson
- Posted On
Highway 175 closures planned to recover wrecked semi truck
NORTH COAST, Calif. – A semi wreck that occurred on the Hopland Grade has led to planned closures of the highway this coming week in order to recover the truck and its trailer.
Caltrans posted video of the Thursday wreck, which can be seen above.
In a crash report issued on Friday, the California Highway Patrol’s Ukiah Area office said the crash occurred at 1:25 p.m. Thursday on the Mendocino County side of Highway 175 near a construction zone.
Lodi resident Christopher Cortez was driving a 2012 Peterbilt westbound with an attached loaded trailer of plywood. The CHP said he had passed multiple regulatory signs prohibiting any vehicle over 39 feet in length, which he failed to obey.
Due to the overall length of the semi and trailer, Cortez was unable to negotiate the turn in the roadway, causing the vehicle to roll down the embankment, the CHP said.
The Caltrans video shows the trailer beginning to overturn first before the semi twisted over onto its passenger side and slid off the roadway.
The CHP said Cortez, who was the semi’s only occupant, was uninjured, and neither alcohol nor drugs were factors in the wreck, which remains under investigation.
The Caltrans District 1 office reported that recovery of the truck and trailer is set for next week.
Caltrans spokeswoman Cori Reed said full closure of Highway 175 will be necessary during the recovery operation.
She said Highway 175 from 5.6 miles east of Highway 101 to Mathews Road outside of Lakeport will be under a full closure on Monday from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m., during which time the truck and trailer will be recovered.
Reed said the truck’s load of plywood will be recovered on Tuesday and Wednesday.
On those days, the closures will be shorter, lasting from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m., in order to help accommodate commuter traffic, Reed said.
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