VIDEO/PHOTOS: An overturned tanker truck on Highway 17 between Los Gatos and Scotts Valley in the Santa Cruz Mountains Thursday prompted a hazmat response. The tanker truck crash unfolded on southbound Highway 17 near Sugarloaf Road just before 7 a.m. Firefighters said the truck was hauling 8,600 gallons of fuel. Both southbound lanes were closed as multiple agencies responded. One of the two northbound lanes was being used for southbound traffic, while the other was for northbound traffic. In a 2 p.m. update, California Highway Patrol officers said southbound lanes may remain shut down into the evening commute, and โpossibly through the night.โ
Photos shared by CHP show a gasoline tanker trailer on its side in the roadway, while the truck and a second tanker are down a steep embankment. Highway 17โs guardrail was crushed by the impact. A video shot by a witness showed good Samaritans getting out of their cars and helping the truck driver climb up a steep slope of the mountain. The video also shows fuel gushing from the wrecked truck and spilling onto Highway 17 Thursday morning. According to the CHP incident log, the truck driver suffered head injuries. The Santa Clara County Fire Department dispatched its Hazmat 72 team to assist the Scotts Valley Fire Department, along with Engine 72, Truck 85, Urban Search & Rescue 85, Rescue 83, Battalion 83, and an incident support officer.
