Overturned big rig tangles traffic on 134 Freeway in Eagle Rock

An overturned big rig on the westbound 134 Freeway in Eagle Rock turned the usually easy Good Friday commute into an exercise in frustration for many drivers.

The truck overturned about 5:20 a.m. west of Figueroa Street, according to a California Highway Patrol report.

An ambulance responded to the scene, but it was unclear if the driver was injured.

The truck came to a halt on the right shoulder and slow lane of the134 Freeway and lay across two lanes for at least two hours as crews worked to remove the wreckage.

Authorities were investigating the cause of the crash.

Commuters were encouraged to use the Foothill Freeway to the north and then cut back down on the Glendale Freeway. The CHP said the 134 Freeway could be closed for a couple more hours.

-- Richard Winton

Photo: The overturned big rig on the westbound 134 Freeway in Eagle Rock. Credit: Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times

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Comments

[El Dabe Law Firm]

I am curious how an accident like this happens. High winds? Driver falls asleep?

[Against Hypocrisy]

@El Dabe Law Firm- I travel this same route on my way to work, and while your two possibilities can definitely come into play in an accident like this one, most of the time the accidents along this stretch of the 134 are caused by careless and inattentive drivers who are speeding down the grade on that section of the westbound portion right before the Glendale Freeway. A lot of them try to cut over to the Glendale at the very last second, or they see a wide open vista as soon as they clear the top of the grade coming from Figueroa, and decide they can indulge in their "pretend to be Mario Andretti" routine. I stick to usually 70 MPH, and a lot of times, people blast by me doing 90 or better. Maybe another possibility is that this truck driver got cut off by one of these lunatics and couldn't come to a stop, slow, or get out of the way of another vehicle that was in front of him. People need to take driving for what it is...something that needs paying attention to, and done as safe as possible at all times.

[My opinon means nothing]

More than likly the poor guy was cut off by some punk kid. I feel sorry for the trucker, that is a very expensive rig. He probably lived in it and was his means of living.