COLLAPSE

A highway overpass in Emeryville collapsed onto the roadway below after a gasoline truck skidded out of control, flipped on its side and exploded early yesterday morning.

The truck’s driver, Woodland, Calif., resident James Mosqueda, 51, walked away from the crash site with second-degree burns on his face, hands and arms, according to California Highway Patrol officials. No other injuries were reported.

But the crash, which occurred at 3:42 a.m. and ignited flames reaching 200 feet, could cause Bay Area commuters headaches for months as state transit officials struggle to repair the busy interchange after a section of eastbound Interstate 580 fell onto southbound Interstate 880 just east of the San Francisco Bay Bridge.

“This was a spectacular accident,” said Jeff Weiss, a spokesperson for Caltrans, the state transit authority. “Things are all charred and bent—the steel’s gnarled. We’re definitely looking at weeks or months.”

The bridge and a connector from westbound I-80 to eastbound I-580 remain open, but eastbound I-80 to eastbound I-580, another ramp in the complex interchange known as the MacArthur Maze, is closed due to structural damage, Weiss said.

The region is one of the most heavily traffic-congested in the Bay Area. Several thousand vehicles use the damaged overpass each day, said California Highway Patrol Officer A. Paulson.

BART and AC Transit are offering free service this morning to encourage commuters to use public transportation in accordance with an emergency declaration by California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger.

“Undoubtedly, today’s incident will cause severe difficulties for Bay Area commuters,” Schwarzenegger said. “The state will take every action possible to minimize the impact on commuters and repair the overpass as quickly as possible.”

Additional BART cars and AC Transit buses will also run today, but officials warn of major delays. Transit officials will meet today to discuss a long-term plan to alleviate congestion, said BART spokesperson Jim Allison.

Transit officials likened yesterday’s incident to the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake, which caused a mile-long section of I-80 to collapse.

“But the difference is that the area’s population is much greater and the transit population is much higher,” Allison said.

Unsafe speed on the highway caused Mosqueda to lose control of the truck, hit a guard rail and flip, which ignited the 8,600 gallons of gasoline inside, Paulson said.

Officials said they do not suspect Mosqueda, a driver for Sabek Transportation in San Francisco, of intoxication.

Mosqueda checked himself into Kaiser Permanente Oakland Medical Center and was transferred to Saint Francis Memorial Hospital Bothin Burn Center in San Francisco, said Kaiser spokesperson PJ Ballard.

It took 26 firefighters about two hours to control the blaze, said Oakland Fire Department Capt. Cedric Price.

The heat, which probably reached temperatures in excess of two thousand degrees, melted the steel, causing it to collapse under the weight of the highway, Weiss said.

Numerous people stopped near the crash site yesterday to marvel at the damage.

“It’s sort of shocking,” said Castro Valley resident Kathy Davis, 50. “And damn—thank god it didn’t happen when a lot of people were on the road.”

Nate Tabak of The Daily Californian contributed to this report.

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