I-5 crash near Lathrop leaves box truck cab hanging over San Joaquin River
A box truck driver found themselves precariously hanging above the San Joaquin River after a crash along Interstate 5 early Friday morning.
California Highway Patrol says the crash happened a little after 5 a.m., south of Lathrop.
Exactly what led up to the truck crashing is unclear, but the tractor ended up crashing through the guardrail of the freeway – leaving the cab hanging over the San Joaquin River.
First responders were able to quickly stabilize the vehicle so that they could start a vertical rescue.
Using a ladder truck, Lathrop-Manteca Fire District says a firefighter was lowered onto the cab. A harness was then placed on the driver and they were taken back to solid ground. The rescue operation took less than 30 minutes.
The driver was not hurt in the crash, firefighters say.
Some diesel fuel leaked onto the river below, prompting an environment clean-up crew to be called to the scene to contain it.
Several lanes of southbound I-5 were impacted through the morning. The lanes weren't cleared until a little before noon.
