40,000 pounds of butter spread spilled on I-10 after crash
A big rig hauling 40,000 pounds of butter spread overturned on I-10 this morning, leading to a closure of a freeway onramp in Banning.
At 6:55 a.m., a 23-year-old man from Lathrop was driving a 2019 Volvo truck tractor pulling a trailer westbound on I-10, when he began to lose control of the vehicle. The big rig began drifting from the number four lane onto the north road edge, then off the shoulder, and into the embankment.
The truck came to a rest on the 8th Street onramp to the freeway in Banning. The driver and his passenger, a 20-year-old woman from Lathrop who was in the vehicle’s sleeper cabin, both sustained moderate injuries in the crash. They were transported by American Medical Response EMTs to Desert Regional Medical Center.
The load of Earth Balance vegetable butter spread broke free from the trailer and spilled across the roadway. As of 12:30 p.m. Friday, the onramp remained closed as crews cleaned up the margarine mess.
Alcohol, drugs, distraction, fatigue, or mechanical failure have not been ruled out as a cause of the crash, according to the California Highway Patrol. CHP is actively investigating this incident.
