One person was seriously injured in a high speed crash off southbound I-680 near Bollinger Canyon Road Tuesday, the crash closing the Interstate for about half an hour as a CalStar air ambulance was brought in to evacuate the injured driver.
The incident was reported at about 1:50 p.m., with motorists reporting a white pickup truck leaving the highway at high speed and impacting with a tree. Traffic was affected almost immediately as passersby left their cars to help the driver, who was pinned in his cab.
The resulting backup hampered efforts by San Ramon Valley and Contra Costa County fire crews attempting to reach the scene and the two “slow” lanes of the highway were closed while rescuers worked to free the motorist. The highway was closed altogether to secure a landing area for the air ambulance, which landed on the roadway to evacuate the driver to a local hospital.
We have no word on the driver’s condition at this time but will update this story as that information becomes available.
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Going the other way – lucky for me – when the bird came in. Hope the guy makes it.
Had a feeling it was a bad one. Hope the driver pulls through.
O, not good. Thinking good thoughts.
Insane. Prayers
We were caught in this and saw the helo come in front of us and land. We were reading your tweets to find out what was happening. Seems like there’s a crash a day on 680
Crash a day
Far too many crashes on that stretch and they are coming at all hours now not just peak commuter times.
Good thoughts to all those who stopped and tried to help and to the professionals who were out there to help that man.
I hope the person is OK — lucky if so. Continue to wonder about possible overuse of helicopters, which come with their own risks and are very expensive. John Muir is about 20 minutes away by car (at regular speed) and San Ramon maybe less than 10 minutes away. A day with splendid weather is missing the most notorious risks (fog, night, unseen power lines, etc.), and this case very well may have warranted a helicopter, but I think there is overuse of helos, e.g., earlier this year a kid who was stabbed (which is horrible, but it was described as not serious) was put on a helo from I believe Martinez to get to John Muir. Not taking anything away from the crew– indeed, my concern is for the crew, based on the accidents that happen each year on flights that don’t always sound like flights that needed to be commissioned.
Perfectly legitimate post, T-Rod (any relation to A-Rod? No?). We can say in this case chopper was brought in due to criticality of patient’s condition, and we are aware of the case you mention and others. Having seen more than a few choppers fall in our day we share your appreciation of the dangers their crews face on a daily basis and, as ever, wish them luck and soft landings. In our area, at least, air time and missions are shared by a number of different aircraft and crews, something we’re hoping will help lessen demand on any one airship and crew. Thanks for writing… and reading!