OAKHURST – A truck driver turning into the parking lot at the Grocery Discount Center had his morning disrupted when a pickup ran into the side of his trailer.
The truck driver, Richard Lamberson of Upland, Ca., said he was headed east on Road 426, making a left turn into the parking lot at the Fresno Flats Center at Road 426 and School Road, when a Toyota pickup headed west in the right lane crashed into the right rear axle of his 48-foot trailer, taking a couple chunks out of the wheel and breaking two welds in the undercarriage.
According to Officer Corbett of the CHP, the Toyota pickup, driven by Donald Trainer, 71, of Oakhurst, was then struck from behind by a Dodge Ram pickup, driven by Paul Ginter, 68, also of Oakhurst.
“I was almost out of the roadway, when I felt something hit back there,” said the truck driver at the scene. “This guy just ran right into the side of my trailer, then another guy ran into the back of him. How do you not see a great big truck right in the middle of the road?”
Lamberson said that as he was waiting in the center turn lane, another car stopped in the left lane, west-bound, to allow him to make the turn.
“There was no other traffic, and I saw that white pickup way back up at that corner,” said Lamberson, indicating the curve up near the China Creek turnoff, on the far side of the traffic light.
Lamberson said he was almost completely out of the roadway, with only the last few feet of his trailer yet to clear, when the white pickup hit him. “He just kept coming, and ran right into me.”
The Toyota pickup sustained major damage to the front end, and the rear of the pickup was also damaged when it was struck from behind by the Dodge Ram. The Toyota was towed from the scene by Doc’s Towing, and the Dodge was in good enough condition to be driven away by Ginter.
At the time of the accident, which was called in at 11:25 a.m. on Thursday, Dec. 13, there were no adverse weather conditions, according to Officer Corbett, and there were no skid marks at the scene.
The only injury sustained in the accident was to Trainer, the driver of the Toyota, who suffered only a minor abrasion, according to the CHP. No one was transported for medical treatment, and no citations were issued.
