Big Rig Careens Off I-15 Spilling Cooking Oil

LAKE ELSINORE, CA — A large semi-truck hauling a cooking oil product plunged down an embankment alongside Interstate 15 at Temescal Canyon Road, California Highway Patrol reported.

The crash occurred at 10:15 a.m. on southbound I-15 near Lake Elsinore, injuring the trucker, according to the CHP.

"The big rig went out of control and veered off the freeway, traveling more than 100 feet into a dirt field near Temescal Canyon and Hostetter Road," CHP said.

Cal Fire/Riverside County Fire Department crews were en route to aid the driver, with some difficulty due to lack of visibility and weather.

"The trucker was found suffering a moderate facial injury and was taken to Inland Valley Medical Center in Wildomar for treatment," officials said. The semi was hauling a "cooking oil product," which seeped out onto the roadway. The county's Department of Environmental Health was called to the scene to determine if there was a potential hazard.

Traffic on the I-15 was not impacted by this incident.

Meanwhile, a secondary crash at Lake Street involved a single-car spinout with a white Mercedes Benz.

Further north on the 15 Freeway in Jurupa Valley, lanes were flooded, disrupting the flow of traffic, according to CHP.

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