The Monday morning commute near Vacaville, California, had a rather slippery surprise for drivers after a trailer full of tomatoes overturned and spilled its cargo across the interstate.
Old-fashioned “mater mashing” in Vacaville
At around 5 a.m. reports came in of a truck pulling a dump trailer loaded with tomatoes had hit the median rail in Vacaville, which is located between Sacramento and San Francisco. The trailer launched the ripe red projectiles across the eastbound lanes, bombarding morning commuters with farm-fresh goodness.
As a result, a slimy mixture of ‘maters, roadkill, tire debris, and everything else that finds its way onto the interstate was ground together. Let’s just say it’s something no one would ever want to eat, even if the apocalypse was upon us.
And yes, there were plenty of chips around, or should I say CHPs, the common term for the California Highway Patrol. Clean-up crews spent several hours cleaning up the “road-made” tomato sauce.
Another case of “still asleep” driving
Since this incident occurred before dawn, we have to ask ourselves, “was the driver still asleep or not enough sleep?” Farm labor is often a “work ‘til you’re dead” profesion. I should know, my family ran a professional produce operation for about 20 years.
Too many times I woke up way before dawn and drove myself to town. Too often I almost dozed off on the way to get my morning sausage biscuit.
Another question to ask was how experienced was the driver? To point out a remark from one post on the CHPs Facebook page, “Was it a younger driver with not enough experience to be hauling that type of freight on the interstate?”
Dump trailers are naturally top heavy, with most of the weight centered six to eight feet above the roadway. A “crack of the whip” – or making a quick, sharp adjustment going down the road, can cause it to roll over easily.
The incident is still under investigation and no charges have been announced.
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