Dump Truck Slams Into Hwy 101 Overpass, Cracking Structure: CHP

REDWOOD CITY, CA – Peninsula commuters faced some heavy delays on the 101 between Redwood City and Palo Alto on Friday, after a dump truck slammed into an area overpass, the California Highway Patrol reports.

According to CHP Officer Art Montiel, the incident happened around 10:52 p.m. Thursday, at the Embarcadero Road overpass, where construction is happening.

The driver of a 2017 Peterbilt Dump Truck, later identified as 24-year-old Sukhpal Singh of Fremont, forgot to lower his dump bed before heading southbound in the fast lane of US-101, Montiel said.

"The raised dump bed struck the north edge of the Embarcadero Road Overpass, causing a 27 foot crack in the structure," he said. "The driver sustained minor injuries and was transported to the hospital."

Because of the crack, the two left lanes of the southbound 101, along with the number two lane of the westbound side, were closed. Those lanes had to remain closed until the "structural integrity" of the bridge could be assessed by a Caltrans engineer, Montiel said.

"Southbound commute traffic was affected in the area with traffic backing up as far as Whipple Avenue," the officer said.

As of Friday afternoon, Caltrans said the two southbound lanes remained closed -- and that they would not open back up until around 7 p.m. However, at 6:04 p.m., the CHP announced that all southbound lanes were open.

The crash is currently under investigation, and anyone who may have seen it happen is asked to call CHP Officer Tim Yu at (650) 369-6261.

Patch file photo by Renee Schiavone