Driver airlifted after big rig loaded with pool chemicals plows into Burney bank
UPDATED: Thursday, Aug. 19, 1 p.m., With additional details from scene.
BURNEY, Calif., — Authorities remain at the scene of a solo-vehicle, major injury traffic collision involving a tractor trailer semi-truck that plowed into the US Bank in Burney, at 37131 Main Street/SR-299E, this morning, Thursday, Aug. 19.
The big rig was hauling pool chemicals at the time of the accident, which caused significant damage to the building’s exterior and destroyed the bank’s sign and outdoor ATM’s located just outside the business’s front doors.
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California Highway Patrol, Shasta County Sheriff’s – Burney Division, and other emergency personnel were dispatched to the scene around 11:20 a.m., according to a CHP incident log and official radio traffic.
Responding from just down the street and within eyesight of the crash, Burney Fire Protection District firefighters were first to arrive at the scene and reported finding the big rig driver trapped inside the mangled wreckage of a white tractor trailer combo. They also reported that the bank was seriously damaged in the crash, although there were no other reported injuries.
A firefighter works to gain access into the cab of a big rig that crashed into Burney’s US Bank late this morning. The accident caused a chaotic scene in the small Intermountain area town of just 3,200. Christopher McCarthy photo
Within minutes, officials at the scene requested additional resources to the location as they worked to free the seriously injured driver from his rig. Just minutes later officials requested that the eastbound SR-299E be closed, to allow for rescuers to continue working at the chaotic scene.
The driver was later airlifted by REACH 5 to Mercy in Redding with injuries described by CHP’s incident log as major.
Although it was not immediately known how fast the big rig was traveling at the time of the crash or what may have led to the accident, the speed limit through that section of town is posted at 30 mph. However, evidence at the scene indicated the truck was possibly traveling significantly faster than the posted speed limit.
Witnesses have since reported that in the moments before the crash the big rig drifted out of the westbound lane of travel and across the eastbound lane before smashing into the bank. Several have said it did not appear that the driver braked or made any attempt to correct his course or slow his vehicle and based on the witness statements, it was not immediately known if the driver suffered a medical emergency just before the collision.
CHP has since reported that the big rig was hauling pool chemicals, but that none had spilled as a result of the accident. A wrecker at the time was still headed to the scene and efforts to pull the big rig from the bank had not begun as of this update.
CHP and other emergency personnel remain active at the scene and the investigation into the cause of the crash is continuing.
This is a developing story that will be updated as new information becomes available.
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Christopher McCarthy photos
Contact the writer: [email protected]
Trevor Montgomery, 50, moved in 2017 to the Intermountain area of Shasta County from Riverside County and runs Riverside County News Source (RCNS) and Shasta County News Source (SCNS).
Additionally, he writes or has written for several other news organizations; including Riverside County-based newspapers Valley News, Valley Chronicle, Anza Valley Outlook, and Hemet & San Jacinto Chronicle; the Bonsall/Fallbrook Village News in San Diego County; and Mountain Echo in Shasta County. He is also a regular contributor to Thin Blue Line TV and Law Enforcement News Network and has had his stories featured on news stations throughout the Southern California and North State regions.
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 30 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 18 grandchildren.
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