FRESNO -- A 40-year-old Atwater man crashed a big rig on southbound Highway 99 in the Fresno area Tuesday night, backing up traffic for about a mile, according to the California Highway Patrol.
No injuries were reported.
The incident occurred at 7:15 p.m. as Esteban Ezree was driving his company's 2009 International tractor-trailer rig about 55 mph in the slow lane, the CHP said.
As he approached Mendocino Avenue, Ezree turned the big rig to the right for unknown reasons and it ran off the highway, the CHP reported.
Ezree's truck then hit 14 sand-filled barrels that had been set up at the end of concrete barriers to protect a construction area on the highway.
Ezree turned his truck back into the slow lane, but it then went over the top of the concrete barriers and continued south for several hundred feet before coming to a stop, according to the CHP.
It knocked down posted signs, trees and an electronic fog alert message sign.
The trailer section of the big rig was carrying cases of wine. The walls of the trailer were damaged during the crash, causing some of the wine to spill out.
The CHP closed the slow lane until about 11:30 p.m., while crews cleaned up the scene.
CHP officers inspected the truck and Ezree's driver's log, they said, but no violations were found.
The investigation into the cause of the crash continues, according to the CHP.
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