SPOKANE, WASHINGTON — A Canadian semi-truck driver who told investigators he had been driving since 2 a.m. fell asleep at the wheel Wednesday morning, sending his truck drifting along a guardrail for 300 feet before it tipped over on Interstate 90, blocking multiple lanes in both directions and triggering a 12-hour cleanup operation.
Washington State Patrol Sgt. Greg Riddell said the crash occurred at approximately 10:15 a.m. as the semi traveled eastbound on I-90 over the bridge crossing Latah Creek. The truck drifted onto the guardrail, the driver overcorrected, struck multiple Jersey barriers, and the semi tipped onto its side. A large pile of debris spilled from the truck, much of it landing under the railroad bridge that crosses I-90 east of Latah Creek.
The driver, Dharampal S. Sidhu, 28, of Surrey, British Columbia, received minor injuries and was treated at the scene. He was ticketed. No hazardous materials were aboard. No other vehicles were involved in the initial crash, though WSP responded to two additional minor collisions caused by the resulting traffic backup. Some vehicles were stuck in the traffic jam for as long as an hour. All freeway lanes were fully reopened approximately 12 hours after the crash.
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