Overturned big-rig near Desert Center causes I-10 nightmare

DESERT CENTER — Authorities remain at the scene of a wreck involving an overturned tractor-trailer big-rig that forced a SigAlert and is continuing to cause delays of several hours on the eastbound I-10. The rollover crash, which may have involved a second vehicle, happened near Red Cloud Mine Rd/Exit 182, this morning, Saturday, March 23, according to a CHP incident log.

Although no injuries were reported and as of this report both lanes of travel had been reopened, the ongoing activity at the scene is continuing to create a traffic nightmare. CHP has requested assistance from other area law enforcement agencies to help deal with the heavy congestion, miles-long back up, and other motorists recklessly trying to get around the scene of the crash.

According to CHP’s log, the dangerous driving actions of impatient motorists trying to turn around on the freeway and use the dirt shoulder to try to get past the scene has caused at least one other accident.

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CHP and other emergency personnel were dispatched to the area around 8:15 a.m., after receiving multiple reports of an overturned big-rig. Some 911 callers reported the crash possibly involved a second vehicle, described only as a pickup truck. Callers also reported that the pickup truck was in the number one lane and the overturned big-rig was in the the number two “slow lane,”  and that both lanes of travel were blocked and impassable.

Within minutes of arriving at the scene, CHP requested a SigAlert be issued and CalTrans activate highway signs warning of the freeway closure and to expect long delays. CHP also reported that impatient motorists were using the dirt shoulder, driving the wrong way, and backing up on the freeway in an effort to get around the scene of the crash.

Fire officials requested a large amount of absorbal be brought to the scene for “approximately 40 gallons” of diesel fuel spilled in the roadway. Officials also summoned Environmental Health officials due to the fuel spill.

Several heavy-duty wreckers were requested to the scene to help right the overturned rig and trailer, while work crews cleaned up the trailer’s spilled load of what was reported by one witness to possibly be oranges.

Eastbound motorists caught behind the wreck soon found themselves trapped on the freeway, with no way to proceed forward and no way to safely turn around. Delayed, bored, and frustrated motorists soon took to social media, reporting delays of up to several hours in their travel times.

Travelers stuck in the mess also reported traffic was backed up more than 10 miles, with the back up growing by the minute. Photographs from the scene showed motorists out of their vehicles and talking with others stuck in the miles-long backup.

At around 11:30 a.m., CHP updated that both lanes of eastbound travel had been reopened; however, more than an hour later CHP’s incident log updated that traffic remained heavily congested. Officers reported that motorists were still driving the wrong way on the freeway, continuing to back up within the lanes of travel, and were using the dirt shoulder to get past the still active accident scene.

This is a developing story that will be updated as new information is available.

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Contact the writer: [email protected]

Trevor Montgomery, 47, moved last year to the Intermountain area of Shasta County from Riverside County and runs Riverside County News Source and Shasta County News Source. Additionally, he writes for several other news organizations; including Riverside County based newspapers, Valley News, The Valley Chronicle, and Anza Valley Outlook; as well as Bonsall/Fallbrook Village News in San Diego County and Mountain Echo in Shasta County.

Trevor spent 10 years in the U.S. Army as an Orthopedic Specialist before joining the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department in 1998. He was medically retired after losing his leg, breaking his back, and suffering both spinal cord and brain injuries in an off-duty accident. (Click here to see segment of Discovery Channel documentary of Trevor’s accident.)

During his time with the sheriff’s department, Trevor worked at several different stations; including Robert Presley Detention Center, Southwest Station in Temecula, Hemet/Valle Vista Station, Ben Clark Public Safety Training Center, and Lake Elsinore Station; along with other locations.

Trevor’s assignments included Corrections, Patrol, DUI Enforcement, Boat and Personal Water-Craft based Lake Patrol, Off-Road Vehicle Enforcement, Problem Oriented Policing Team, and Personnel/Background Investigations. He finished his career while working as a Sex Crimes and Child Abuse Investigator and was a court-designated expert in child abuse and child sex-related crimes.

Trevor has been married for more than 28 years and was a foster parent to more than 60 children over 13 years. He is now an adoptive parent and his “fluid family” includes 13 children and 15 – but soon to be 16 – grandchildren.