Watch KRON’s Mike Pelton live from the scene of this crash.
BAY POINT (KRON) — The CHP has reopened all lanes of Hwy 4 in Bay Point Saturday morning after the cleanup of 80,000 pounds of material spilled on the roadway following a big rig accident, according to the California Highway Patrol.
Just after 4 a.m. Saturday, four eastbound lanes of the Delta Highway were reported closed at Bailey Road and only the exit lane remained open when a big rig fell on its side after swerving to attempt missing a car that had stalled on the highway, according to CHP.
The truck side-swiped the car and it is unclear if the driver had turned on the car’s hazard lights when the vehicle ran out of gas, said CHP. CHP recommended to all drivers, if a car runs out of gas or stalls, turn on the hazard lights and try to coast over to the side of the road.
The cleanup of the spill lasted several hours and all lanes reopened at around 9 a.m.
At first, CHP believed the spilled material to be coal, but later learned it is petroleum coke — a non-hazardous byproduct of refining oil — and not considered dangerous.
The drivers of the car and truck were taken to the hospital with minor injuries, said CHP. There were no other passengers in the vehicles involved. CHP said the accident could have been a lot worse had the truck driver not swerved out of the immediate path of the stalled vehicle.