Tanker truck fire causes collapse on Oakland Freeway

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Sunday, April 29, 2007

A tanker truck carrying approximately 8,600 gallons of unleaded gasoline caught on fire on the Interstate 80/880 interchange in Oakland, California early Sunday morning around 3:40 AM. The fire resulted in the collapse of at least two sections of bridges at the interchange, including one carrying I-580. The multi-level freeway interchange known as the MacArthur Maze connects the Bay Bridge (Interstate 80) to Interstates 580, 880, and 980 and California State Highway 24, and as such it connects several major cities in California, including San Francisco, Oakland, and Berkeley.

The driver, James Mosqueda, 51, of Woodland, California, escaped from his truck before the fire. He was the only person reported to be hurt, suffering second-degree burns. No other vehicles were involved in the crash.

The driver was believed to be speeding, resulting in a loss of control of the truck, causing it to flip over and subsequently burst into flames. As the truck was traveling on the interchange of I-80 eastbound to I-880 southbound near the San Francisco Bay Bridge, it is speculated to have hit a guard rail or column during a turn. Shortly thereafter, it exploded into a fire that lasted several hours.

Caltrans officials have announced that repairs will be fast-tracked, but will still take several weeks. Public transit has responded with plans to increase service and re-route buses that used the destroyed interchange.

Gov. Schwarzenegger has declared a state of emergency that in addition to expediting repairs will suspend restrictions on truck traffic hours and provide free use of area public transportation on Monday, April 30.

Sources

• "Tanker Explosion Causes Freeway Collapse". NBC 11, April 29, 2007
• "Overpass Near Oakland Collapses After Truck Explodes". New York Times, April 29, 2007
• Demian Bulwa, Rick Delvecchio, Michael Cabanatuan, John Wildermuth, Carolyn Jones and Peter Fimrite "Tanker fire destroys part of MacArthur Maze, 2 freeways closed near Bay Bridge". The San Francisco Chronicle, April 29, 2007
• Press Release: "Governor Schwarzenegger Issues Emergency Declaration for Collapse of Freeway Near Bay Bridge". Office of the Governor, April 29, 2007

External links

• Flash video of the fire
• Satellite map centered on location of collapse
• Alternate routes for local traffic
  

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