Was in town shopping for the store and saw a big plume of black smoke right near where I was heading next. Flipped the radio to a local news station and heard about this.
From station KGMI:
Dump truck tumbles from I-5 onto Bellingham street, catches fire
A dump truck smashed through barriers on Southbound I-5, fell down to the street below near the corner of Iowa and Lincoln and burst into flames today.
KGMI’s Karen Taylor talked to Sergeant Shane Rogers of State Patrol.
Here’s what we know:
Cause was a mechanical issue/failure of one of the front steering wheel columns.
It should have come up in an annual inspection.
The dump truck should never have been on the roadway.
It was carrying a load of gravel/dirt, spilled onto embankment.
Fluids and oils from truck had to be contained by booms to keep it from going down the storm water drains.
Dump truck being inspected before it’s towed away, information will be sent to federal inspectors, who will determine if the dump truck company will face any fines or penalties.
It is NOT the driver’s fault, there is nothing he could have done to prevent it or see it ahead of time.
He is surprisingly unhurt, jumped out as the dump truck was on fire.
There are a bunch of photos on the KGMI site including this one:
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