Big-Rig Crash Traps Driver After Brakes Fail On San Mateo Bridge Off-Ramp

SAN MATEO, CA – UPDATE: WEDNESDAY, DEC. 7, 11:55 a.m.

The brakes failed this morning on a big-rig traveling east on state Highway 92 in San Mateo, causing the truck to hit two other vehicles as the driver exited to avoid stalled highway traffic, California Highway Patrol
and fire officials said.

The crash was reported at 8:07 a.m. on the Alameda de las Pulgas off-ramp from eastbound Highway 92.

The driver realized the brakes were starting to fail as he was going traveling between Hillsdale Boulevard and Alameda de las Pulgas, San Mateo Fire Chief John Healy said.

He decided to exit on the Alameda de las Pulgas off-ramp because traffic had stopped on Highway 92 and the off-ramp goes uphill. To avoid stopped traffic on the off-ramp, the driver drove off the right side of the
ramp into some foliage, Healy said.

Unfortunately, he could not avoid a Hyundai Sonata or a GMC Yukon.

The truck hit both vehicles, went up an embankment and fell on its right side, trapping the driver.

Firefighters used the Jaws of Life to get the man out of the big-rig and he was uninjured, CHP Officer Art Montiel said.

Healy said, "He did a good job of avoiding a bad situation and making it worse."

The driver could have crashed into a whole bunch of cars on the highway, Healy said.

The driver of the GMC complained of pain. The driver of the Hyundai was uninjured, Montiel said.

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WEDNESDAY, DEC. 7, 11:29 a.m.

A driver was briefly trapped after his big rig overturned on a Highway 92 off-ramp this morning, police said.

The crash was reported just before 9:30 a.m. when a man crashed a semi on eastbound SR-92 at the Alameda de las Pulgas off-ramp, according to authorities.

"For unknown reasons, the driver lost control of the vehicle, swerved to the right, hitting two cars in the process," CHP Officer Art Montiel told Patch. "It then went up the embankment where it overturned. The driver was trapped inside the cab and was extricated using the jaws of life."

The driver escaped with no injuries, Montiel said.

As for the drivers of the other two vehicles, a Honda Sonata and a GMC Yukon, the CHP says one of them suffered minor injuries. Montiel said the off-ramp would be closed for the next several hours as a result of the crash.

"Avoid southbound Alameda over highway 92 for the next three to four hours due to an overturned big rig," an alert from the San Mateo Police Department states. "CHP and Caltrans on scene cleaning up."

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Renee Schiavone and Bay City News contributed to this post/Image via CHP