Interstate 80 reopens near Emigrant Gap after truck crashes trapped drivers, officials say
All lanes of Interstate 80 reopened Tuesday evening after multiple big rig crashes caused the roadway to be blocked near Emigrant Gap for about six hours.
Caltrans announced the freeway was fully opened at 5:32 p.m. after several people were reportedly trapped in vehicles following collisions that were first reported just before 11:30 a.m., authorities said. The California Highway Patrol, Placer County sheriff’s deputies and fire personnel responded throughout the day.
The Placer County Sheriff’s Office said in a tweet that deputies were called to assist with a tractor-trailer crash near Nyack Road in which there were reports of “several people entrapped” just before noon. The CHP’s Gold Run office tweeted that all lanes were blocked due to the crash.
One of the trapped occupants had been extricated from a vehicle as of 12:45 p.m., Cal Fire reported on Twitter.
Caltrans tweeted around noon that eastbound I-80 traffic was being turned near the community of Baxter due to multiple collisions at Nyack Road and that the closure could take “several hours.”
In updated posts, Caltrans described the incident as a “chain reaction of truck collisions” caused in part by wet roads. CHP Gold Run said the initial collision involved one big rig, and the secondary collision involved five more. At least one person suffered major injuries and was transported to a hospital, according to the CHP incident log.
Cal Fire confirmed on social media that one of the incidents was a “rollover requiring extrication.” A photo posted by Cal Fire’s Nevada-Yuba-Placer unit showed an overturned rig’s trailer, resting partially on the freeway’s center divide.
There were at least two separate collisions, each involving big rigs, according to the California Highway Patrol’s incident log.
An initial report of a semitrailer traveling on westbound I-80, hitting the center divider and ending up in the eastbound fast lane came in just before 11:30 a.m., according to the incident log.
The log indicated that the initial crash involved a big rig “flipped over,” with its driver “trapped inside.”
TRAFFIC ALERT
Placer County Sheriff’s deputies are enroute to assist with a big rig crash on EB Interstate 80 near Nyack Road. Reports of several people entrapped.
️ PLEASE DRIVE CAREFULLY️
We will update as we receive more information.— Placer Sheriff (@PlacerSheriff) January 28, 2020
#TrafficAlert: I-80 EB is currently CLOSED due to multiple crashes involving semi-trucks near Nyack. Traffic is being turned near Baxter. Expect I-80 to be closed for several hours to clear the large trucks. No ETO. pic.twitter.com/SSQVr88CFy
— Caltrans District 3 (@CaltransDist3) January 28, 2020
Eastbound Lanes of Interstate 80 at Nyack blocked by an overturned semi truck on the center divide. Resources at scene. pic.twitter.com/ydpV2By4l4
— CAL FIRE Nevada-Yuba-Placer Unit (@CALFIRENEU) January 28, 2020
2nd incident at westbound Interstate 80 at Emigrant Gap. Semi rollover requiring extrication. Lanes blocked. No estimated time for reopening. pic.twitter.com/32Sx4nYKC2
— CAL FIRE Nevada-Yuba-Placer Unit (@CALFIRENEU) January 28, 2020
It was the second collision in the Sacramento area Tuesday involving big rigs after a multiple-vehicle crash killed two people on Highway 99 near Galt earlier in the morning.
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