Apricots Cause Traffic Jam
Posted on August 24, 2012 Written By: iadminlaw
An apricot and its cross section (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
Freeways and side streets can always hold an element of surprise. With all the travelers out on the road, almost any abrupt changes and occurrences can happen. Sudden lane changes, cars swerving, and countless other unexpected moves can cause vehicles to collide into one another. This is why being a defensive driver is vital to safety. Almost anything can happen on the road.
In Sacramento, a bunch of apricots caused a bit of a traffic jam on the 5 South freeway. Who knew that this seasonal fruit could cause so much distress? The apricots had been placed in crates and stacked on a big rig. The truck was transporting the fruit from a farm to local stores. Too bad not all the apricots made it to their destination.
On Thursday, August 23, what seemed like a normal shipment took a different course. The truck driver of the jackknifed big rig swerved on the connector ramp between the Interstate 5 and the eastbound Highway 50. The driver had tried to avoid an accident in front of him, causing him to swerve and making the apricots topple. Crates and crates of the fruit tumbled down, rolling on the freeway and creating a juicy dilemma.
A traffic jam began to form as the apricots rolled and strayed on the freeway. Drivers did not want to drive through the fruits in case it would cause their car to go out of control. When a situation like this arises, it is smart to not take the chance and drive through the fruits. The hard seed and somewhat large size of the fruit may make it difficult for cars to easily pass through.
The freeway connector was shut down at 12:10 p.m. as a cleanup crew was called to pick up the fruits. At about an hour later at 1:10 p.m, one of the lanes on the connector was opened. However the other two lanes remained closed until 2:30 p.m. since there were still cleanup efforts taking place. Drivers were strongly advised to find and take an alternate route in order to avoid the traffic congestion.
This type of situation would have been hard to anticipate. Many times trucks have delivered crates of fruits but most never had to make a sudden swerve to avoid a car accident. It was the hasty maneuver the driver took which caused the fruits to fall of the truck and into the road. The traffic jam must have been a unique standstill since instead of stopping for a car accident, they were stopping for the fruits to avoid getting into a car crash.
If you have experienced a situation where personal injury was inflicted on you, consult with our car accident attorney to find out how you can seek compensation for your pain and suffering.
