Willow Glen Resident
News
Photograph courtesy Santa Clara County
Whoops! Oversized water tanks were too much of a load as the driver attempted to clear a 15-foot overpass at Curtner Avenue in Willow Glen. The water tanks didn't make it.
Everything tanked when a truck driver tried to clear the overpass
By Mayra Flores De Marcotte
Two large water tanks, an overpass and one small miscalculation led to a mess of oversized proportions.
A trailer-tractor got stuck under the Almaden Expressway overpass on Curtner Avenue on July 19 at 2:57 p.m., causing an accident and a two-hour traffic jam.
According to Santa Clara County civil engineer Gamini Rajapakse, the overpass has a 15-foot vertical clearance, which was not high enough for the two water tanks on the bed of the trailer.
San Jose Fire Department Battalion Chief Jose Guerrero said the driver was on Curtner Avenue when he wedged his load under the overpass. The "chaser" vehicle behind him slammed on his breaks. The sudden stop caused the car behind the chaser vehicle to rear-end the car.
"When we arrived, we attended to the vehicle accident first," Guerrero said.
Willow Glen's Fire Station No. 6 responded to the scene.
The driver was treated and then transported to the nearest local hospital with no serious injuries.
The fire department then proceeded to figure out how it would remove the truck. Consultants from the Santa Clara County roads and airport department were on the scene to assess the structural damage and stability of the overpass.
The police department monitored the busy street, while fire department officials contacted their Urban Search and Rescue Unit, which is trained for these incidents. According to the fire department, no damage occurred to the overpass.
According to Guerrero, the tires of the trailer were deflated. This enabled the search and rescue unit to strap down the water tanks, which had shifted during the accident. The search and rescue unit pulled the tanks back onto center of the trailer bed, and finally the entire vehicle and tanks were squeezed out from underneath the overpass.
"This was a learning experience," Guerrero said. "We do try to anticipate these things and prepare for them. These situations, however, are uncommon. I don't know of any other incident like this one."
