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SOLEDAD — A tractor trailer full of broccoli took out 100 feet of guard railing and caused a single vehicle accident at about 6:30 p.m. last Friday on the Highway 101 northbound overpass. The front half of the tractor trailer spilled over the side of the overpass with baskets of broccoli blanketing the hillside.
The driver of the tractor trailer was able to crawl out the safety from the cab. The driver of the vehicle that was following behind the tractor trailer received minor injuries, but the vehicle he was driving was totaled.
The accident closed the right side of the northbound lanes and brought 101 North to a standstill. The highway was held up until about 9 p.m. with only one lane operating on the road.
Four police agencies and five fire departments responded to the accident, including Cal Fire from the City of Soledad, the Gonzales Volunteer Fire Department and the Soledad Police Department.
“It took three heavy duty tow trucks to haul the tractor trailer from off the side of the road,” said Cal Fire Captain Nick Gelos. “We had to help in picking up baskets of broccoli and we stabilized the trailer with rescue struts to prevent it from moving so we could work on removing the baskets from the trailer and highway. The tractor trailer was full of broccoli. We had engines 37 and 33 respond to the accident.”
Highway 101 by Arroyo Seco Road was also shut down earlier that evening due to a four-car accident. Soledad was closed from the 101 exit from the shopping center, and cars were diverted through downtown Soledad to South 101 by the tractor trailer accident.
