A man was killed Wednesday night when the big-rig trailer he was driving jack-knifed on the highway in Morongo Valley. The California Highway Patrol was escorting an oversized load consisting of a tractor-trailer combination, a 120-foot trailer hauling a generator, and two additional pusher-tractors in tandem from Beaumont to Arizona. When the lead tractor reached Fobes Road just after 10 p.m., the lead tractor drifted toward the right dirt shoulder, causing it to jack knife and colliding with fence alongside the highway. The 44-year-old driver from Prunedale, who has not yet been identified, was ejected and died at the scene. The collision with the fence ruptured the truck’s gas tank, spilling about 120 gallons of diesel fuel on the shoulder and private property. Eastbound Highway 62 were closed for an extended period of time, and traffic was diverted into westbound lanes.
Video courtesy of Cyle Tisdale.
