All lanes open on Interstate 10
All lanes of I-10 have reopened after a big rig overturned and caught fire Tuesday morning.
Firefighters, police and Caltrans was called to the crash at 6:42 a.m. The big rig was blocking all of the freeway’s westbound lanes just west of Haugen Lehmann Way.
Eastbound freeway traffic was not affected by any road closures, but motorists heading westbound were backed up for miles.
A California Highway Patrol spokesman said the truck driver, 35-year-old James Cobos of Whittier, California, wasn’t injured in the crash.
The CHP spokesman said Cobos was hauling two trailers westbound on the freeway. Cobos said he became distracted while reaching for something on the passenger side of the truck. He ended up drifting off the right shoulder then hit a guard rail and flipped over in traffic lanes.
A hazardous materials team was called to the scene because the truck was carrying a low-grade pesticide, which made the cleanup process take even longer.
Black smoke from the burning wreckage could be seen for miles.
Drivers stuck in traffic were being diverted at Haugen Lehmann Way. Police then directed them to use Railroad Avenue, a frontage road which parallels the freeway, into Cabazon where motorists could then get back onto the freeway at Main Street.
Caltrans issued an advisory saying there was a five-mile traffic queue as of 8:30 a.m. with the potential for longer delays.
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