A video of a semi truck toppling down an embankment in California has gone viral after the driver told authorities he figured he would “try to work his luck” on the restricted roadway.
The accident happened on Thursday, October 11th in Mendocino County, California.
The California Highway Patrol says that truck driver Christopher Cortez ignored the posted signs warning drivers of vehicles over 39 feet long to turn around, leading to the toppling of his rig more than 100 feet down the side of a ravine along Route 179.
@Caltrans video from Route 175 near Hopland yesterday. Chronic problem on this stretch of road. Driver okay. Truck still below. Asking why and how. #abc7now pic.twitter.com/1OoKvQxeEy
— Wayne Freedman (@WayneFreedman) October 12, 2018
“He stated that he saw a few of them,” said Sgt. Robert Powers.
“He said he would try to work his luck and see what he could do with it.”
Cortez, who was even warned by construction workers as he tried to traverse the narrow, curved roadway, was unhurt in the accident but has since been cited for ignoring the posted warning signs on the restricted roadway, reported ABC 13.
Certainly plenty of warnings for long trucks along Rt.175#abc7now pic.twitter.com/eMQ0HFgSPG
— Wayne Freedman (@WayneFreedman) October 12, 2018
“The tractors take a different line than the trailers,” said construction worker Jim Shupe.
“His trailer got in the berm and the trailer pulled him over.”
Another look at the turn on Route 175 where more than one semi truck has plummeted into a ravine. #abc7now @caltrans blames truckers not reading Warning signs on this restricted road. pic.twitter.com/kf3jqoIAGy
— Wayne Freedman (@WayneFreedman) October 12, 2018
This is not the first time a semi truck has gone over the side of the ravine since construction began – locals say that a similar, less serious incident occurred earlier this month and that a wine truck carrying hundreds of bottles of wine slid down the same ravine last January.
“We could put a sign and a video of the truck on the loop, and it would happen again… One hundred percent,” said Powers.
The wrecked rig is still in the ravine as officials plan its retrieval, which will require the shut down of the roadway for a full day.
