Truck bursts into flames after 5-vehicle crash in Merced, shutting highway, CHP says

A large moving truck caught fire Saturday after it crashed into traffic that was slowed due to another crash on Highway 99 in Merced, according to California Highway Patrol.

CHP Merced received calls of a two-vehicle non-injury crash at about 7:30 a.m. on southbound Highway 99 just south of R Street, Officer Eric Zuniga said. As CHP units were on their way, they received reports of another multi-vehicle collision on southbound Highway 99 overpass at V Street.

When they arrived, officers spotted a five-vehicle collision at the V Street location, with one of the trucks on fire, Zuniga said. The crash also involved a tanker truck.

Several people in the vehicles involved received minor injuries, Zuniga said.

Merced firefighters arrived at the scene to put out the fully involved truck fire and the collision received a HAZMAT response as a precaution, although the tanker truck never caught fire, Battalion Chief Jeremy Franklin said.

Southbound lanes of Highway 99 were blocked for 3.5 hours as fire crews worked to put out the fire and clean up the crash, Zuniga said. However, highway traffic was still moving slow as of Saturday afternoon.

Firefighters had to spend time taking out heavy furniture from the truck to completely extinguish the fire, Franklin said.

A preliminary investigation determined that a 56-year-old man from Ohio was driving a 2015 Kenworth semi-truck tractor south on Highway 99 in the slow lane as he approached slowing traffic due to the first collision at R Street, Zuniga said.

"For unknown reasons, the driver of the Kenworth was unable to stop in time and steered left to avoid a collision," Zuniga said.

The truck, described as a moving truck by Franklin, crashed into a 2014 Volvo semi-truck tractor in the slow lane being driven by a 40-year-old Raisin City man, Zuniga said.

The Kenworth then continued out of control and collided with three other vehicles, a 2016 Toyota Corolla driven by a 39-year-old Merced woman, a 2012 Honda Pilot driven by a 51-year-old Modesto man and a 2018 Toyota Camry driven by a 75-year-old Merced man, Zuniga said.

The Kenworth then caught on fires, Zuniga said. The driver and a passenger were helped to escape by bystanders before the truck was fully engulfed with flames.

This story was originally published June 30, 2018 at 2:47 PM.