California’s Interstate 580 was shut down for nearly 10 hours earlier this month after two big-rig collisions near Castro Valley in unincorporated Alameda County. The police alert for the road closures came in just after 4:00am on that Thursday morning, and was finally lifted around 2:00pm. Sadly, both truck crashes proved to be fatal.
Tyler Hahn of the California Highway Patrol reported that a black sedan collided with the first big-rig around 4:00am, coming to rest in the middle of the freeway. That disabled vehicle was subsequently struck by a second big-rig which couldn’t avoid the disabled vehicle. The driver of the second big-rig died as a result of the collision.
These kind of double fatalities make me wonder what caused the second crash? Was it distracted driving by the second big-rig driver, or did he not have enough time to avoid the collision? Were the sight distances inadequate or was the second truck driver’s speed too great for him to react in time? Is there a dangerous condition on this public road that contributed to causing these deaths? Is there some way that we can build a better infrastructure which can be better for preventing fatal truck collisions? I am very interested to learn more about these two fatal truck crashes, in the hope that greater knowledge will help us to build safer roads and vehicles.