March 27, 2008
Back-to-Back Truck Crashes

Photo by Dave Maxwell Carl's Jr. truck loaded with french fries that overturned north of Hiko.

By Dave Maxwell, Staff Writer

Hiko’s notorious so-called “Whipple curve” was the scene of back-to-back truck and trailer accidents on March 20 and 21. Nevada Highway Patrol Trooper Sgt. Rob Oakden stated there were no reported injuries in either accident; names of the drivers were not released.

The first accident, on March 20, occurred about 6:50 a.m., and involved a big rig hauling a load of 1-inch flat board lumber from Vancouver, Washington to Nogales, Arizona. Sgt. Oakden said the driver reported a northbound vehicle had crossed over into his southbound lane and forced him onto the shoulder. As the driver attempted to return to the highway, the trailer overturned spilling the load of lumber. Following the accident, the trailer was up righted, the lumber was reloaded and the driver continued on his way.

The second accident happened the next day just about 200 feet further north of where the first accident had occurred. The truck was a Carl’s Jr. Restaurant truck hauling 40,000 pounds of french fries from Idaho to California. Sgt. Oakden reported the truck was headed south between 5:00 and 5:15 am; the driver said he leaned forward to put some trash into a small trash bucket and the truck veered off of the highway. When the driver realized he was off the roadway, he overcorrected and caused the entire truck to turn over completely, coming to rest on its top. The load did not spill out, but the trailer was broken open in a couple of places. Later in the day, the trailer was unloaded and the rig was up righted and removed.

Again, no injuries were sustained by the driver or the co-driver who was in the truck sleeper unit.