Posted on 04/29/2007 6:40:56 AM PDT by WSGilcrest
Tanker truck explosion caused part of the upperdeck of the maze approaching the Bay Bridge to collapse.
Watch live coverage starting at 7 a.m. on NBC11
What was initially reported to the California Highway Patrol as a fire at around 3:42 a.m. Sunday quickly escalated to an explosion and roadway collapse on roadway that connects eastbound Interstate Highway 80 to eastbound Interstate Highway 580, according to a California Highway Patrol dispatcher.
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According to the dispatcher, the roadway was destroyed after a tanker caught on fire and exploded, causing the driver to suffer second degree burns.
The tanker was under the overpass.
Chopper11 showed at least two sections of the maze collapsed.
The dispatcher said there is no word on when the roadway will be open and it could be days if not months before traffic resumes as usual on this stretch of road.
Stay with NBC11 and NBC11.com for continuing coverage of this breaking story.
I wonder if the late Mr. Perez spoke English.
I agree! And... how did he hail a CAB?? Think about it... Tanker goes up in a fireball (did I miss something - has there been a cause identified on HOW it went up in a fireball?). Driver gets out and HAILS A CAB to the hospital? (sorry for shouting - this just sounds weird). I’ve never seen anyone hail a cab from a major highway like that.........
“Driver gets out and HAILS A CAB to the hospital? (sorry for shouting - this just sounds weird). Ive never seen anyone hail a cab from a major highway like that.........”
I don’t know the area at all, but it does seem odd...I believe this accident occurred around 4a.m.
You keep sidestepping the obvious. I don't care if you were taught not to read past the 1st paragraph. If you were to lazy to read the second paragraph then that is your fault. It clearly states CA, there is only one bay bridge in CA, it clearly states what highway numbers were involved. It may not be the epitomy of reporting but it gives enough information to tell you where it is, exactly what state and roughly the area.
You just can't admit you are the one who is nitpicking and just didn't read the article. Give it a rest.
Arrogance? "smacks of arrogance"? To assume that all but the dumbest people in the US don't know that CA and bay area means SF, Oakland or the small towns surrounding is arrogance?
I would say that assuming a reporter is going to immediately splash the location of an event in the first paragraph and that you are just too busy to read further because that is what you have been taught is true arrogance.
Besides the location WAS mentioned in the first paragraph, the person who posted it broke it up for easier reading.
I would have dropped this on the first post but you just kept claiming the info wasn't there, when it was, not only showing your ignorance and inability to read past the first two words, but showing your distain and arrogance of reporters who don't quite write the way you think they should. Have a nice day.
Theroetically, no. FMCSA regs require proficiency in the English language to get a CDL (I have one....). HazMat drivers have to go through a Federal background check for an endorsement (don’t have that — don’t haul hazmat...)
I'm on the freeway, look for the fireball!
It sounds like something straight out of " 24 ".
Jack, the driver hailed a cab...
80 West to 880 South Connector | Report of Fire | 4:55 AM | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Thanks for the info!
Later they say he went to a gas station, which must have been a distance from the accident since he was on a major overpass, and CALLED a cab. Why not call an ambulance if you are injured enough to go to the hospital?
This is a huge problem, as all the evening traffic from San Francisco to points east of Oakland takes that 580 overpass that collapsed. Caltrans will get it back up pretty quickly because it's an emergency situation (all the Jesse Jackson/contract talk is silly - this won't be a project put out for bid) but in the interim it's going to cause huge backups, especially during the evening commute.
I hate to sound kinda tin foil about this, but something smells fishy. I’ll hold my tongue until I find out how this tanker managed to explode, and who the driver is. Of course, I could just be paranoid.
So do your local papers always call it the Bay Bridge over Chesepeake Bay in Maryland? Of course not. It is a LOCAL story. This one quickly went national due to the internet and FR. Had it been written for a national audience, more details would have been given.
Why are people so fussed up about info that is given in the first 35 words of the story? Do we need to tell people to read the story, not just the first sentence?
Take a breath! Why are you taking this so personally?
It clearly states CA, there is only one bay bridge in CA, it clearly states what highway numbers were involved. It may not be the epitomy of reporting but it gives enough information to tell you where it is, exactly what state and roughly the area.
You are wrong again. I did not know where the Bay Bridge was. And, as other have pointed out there are other Bridges called the "Bay Bridge".
Get a grip.
Wasnt the L/P earthquake in 1989 and the new Bay Bridge is still not finished?
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It still isn’t finished.
MSNBC has Caltrans spokeswoman saying it will be closed for MONTHS.
Yeah, but it was posted on and international web site. It's just common courtesy to tell us where it is. I do it when I post a local story.
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