Truck Loses Breaks, Car Accident In Oakland, California

Oakland, CA - This evening at about 4:55 PDT, and as this blogger was walking to Grand Avenue, there was far more than the usual level of traffic on Mac Arthur Blvd off the I-580 Freeway toward Grand Avenue.

It wasn't exactly clear what happened until, as I walked closer, it was obvious a large truck with a reddish brown bed was at the center of what appeared to be a giant four-car pile up.

What happened, according to the California Highway Patrol Officer I talked to, was that the truck's breaks went out and it slammed into what appeared to be a silver Honda. Apparently, the Honda was stopped, waiting for the light to change at the intersection of Mac Arthur and Grand near Lake Merritt. When the truck hit the car, it caused a chain reaction vehicle accident, with four cars slammed into each other.

Thankfully, though there were several injuries, no one was killed. Moreover, the car in front of the rest of the group was pushed to the side on impact, and not into Grand Avenue. Had that happened, even more cars may have been hit.