OAKLAND — A fiery explosion involving big-rig trucks in an Interstate 5 tunnel north of Los Angeles last week is evoking memories of the MacArthur Maze meltdown last spring. Five months after the Bay Area explosion, which destroyed a major freeway interchange connecting the Bay Bridge to eastbound Interstate 580, the cause is still under investigation.
As officials examined the wreckage Monday in Santa Clarita, about 30 miles from Los Angeles, the exact cause of the accident on the Bay Bridge connecting ramp remains unknown, and no one has been assigned responsibility for the crash that resulted in up to $8 million in repairs, said state officials. The concrete and steel structure melted under massive fire that was fed by 8,000 gallons of fuel that spilled out of the gouged tanker owned by Sabek Transportation of South San Francisco.
When he heard the news of the Southern California crash, James Mosqueda, the 51-year-old driver of tanker that crashed on I-580 ramp, relived the hellish accident.
“It really scares me,” Mosqueda said Monday. “It reminded me of what happened in the accident I had – the trauma. It was a very traumatic experience.”
Both the Northern and Southern California incidents raise questions about how government agencies can better monitor trucking companies catastrophic collisions involving big rigs. Last week, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger signed a new law aimed at minimizing accidents caused by trucks carrying hazardous material.
Traffic flowed smoothly along I-5 Monday after a two-day shutdown. Bay Area commuters, in comparison, were forced to find alternate routes during a 26-day closure of the I-580 off ramp in May. The Friday accident triggered an inferno that left three people dead, while Mosqueda was able to walk away from 100-foot flames with second-degree burns to his hands.
Caltrans spokeswoman Judy Gish said it is not clear how much it will cost to repair the Southern California tunnel.
“There was extensive damage on the northbound tunnel involving reinforced steel bars. There’s a lot of concrete that burned,” Gish said.
California Highway Patrol officials are just starting to piece together what happened. People who were inside the tunnel are still unaccounted for and unidentified, said Sgt. Mark Garrett. But, authorities do know at least three people were killed _ including two drivers _ and 10 others were injured. Garrett said it was not known when the investigation will be completed.
“Many of the vehicles were literally burned to the ground,” Garret said.
Meanwhile, investigators examining the MacArthur Maze accidents are still trying to pinpoint whether it was driver error or mechanical failure that resulted in the crash. And while no one has been held liable for the explosion, the CHP indefinitely suspended Sabek Transportation’s hazardous material transportation license in May because of numerous violations, including faulty equipment and ignoring driver regulations.
An expert team of investigators has been gathering information through physical evidence, documentation and interviews since last April to determine the cause of the accident. A preliminary report indicated that fuel sloshing in the tank may have caused the truck to tip. It is unknown when the investigation will be completed, said CHP Sgt. Les Bishop.
“Once we make that determination further action will be made based on what we find,” Bishop said.
The state ultimately financed repairs with funds from the Federal Highway Administration, under the U.S. Department of Transportation.
John Burris, Oakland attorney and legal analyst, said it’s possible Sabek Transportation and Mosqueda could be held accountable and have to pay for a portion if not all of the repair costs.
“If you cause damage through negligence you should be obligated to pay the state back,” he said.
But Burris also said Sabek and Mosqueda could have a possible defense.
“There could be an argument that the state itself constructed the bridge at a level not designed to withstand that kind of heat,” Burris said.
According to a 2007 U.S. General Accounting Office report on truck safety, crashes involving commercial motor carriers only account for 5 percent of all highway collisions, but deaths from these accidents comprise 13 percent of all highway deaths. Fatality rates have dropped overall in the past three decades.
In 2006, there were 30,170 accidents involving trucks on California’s highways. About 400 people were killed and 10,000 injured. No statistics for previous years were immediately available from the CHP. About half of the collisions were blamed on the drivers. Speeding was ranked as the primary cause in more than 4,000 accidents. Improper turns resulted in 3,500 collisions.
As a response to the MacArthur Maze explosion, state Assemblyman Pedro Nava (D-Santa Barbara) introduced AB 1612, a bill that requires truck drivers to have a clean driving record for three years before they are allowed to transport hazardous materials. The bill was signed by Schwarzenegger on Thursday, a day before the deadly Southern California pile-up.
As legislators move to strengthen truck-monitoring procedures, Mosqueda is trying to put behind him the traumatic memory of escaping scorching 3,000-degree flames in the pre-dawn darkness of April 29.
“I’m doing better, but it’s been very slow,” he said. “I’ve never experienced something like this in my life.”
