Trucker crashes into guardrail

A southbound truck driver lost control of a vehicle transporter at about 4 a.m. last Wednesday, Dec. 11, and crashed into the guardrail at the top of Buck Canyon grade on Highway 195. The truck and loaded trailer went out of control on the curve near the top of the grade and slid across the highway and into the guardrail.

The driver of the truck in the early Wednesday morning accident at the top of Buck Canyon grade was identified as Matthew Bridwell, 36, Pinehurst, Idaho. Bridwell was unhurt in the accident.

The accident happened after an overnight snowstorm made driving on the highway hazardous, according to the WSP district report.

Overnight snow made for slick driving conditions on the highway in the early morning hours.

The precarious position of the trailer and its load led officers to request closure of traffic on Cedar Street which was below the wreck site. A city crew member was positioned at the site to alert motorists near the Little League field.

Wrecker crews worked for seven hours at the site to remove the truck and its loaded trailer from its precarious position.

Scott Pittman of Colfax Body Repair said the truck actually went through the guardrail. The low belly pan on the trailer dug into the asphalt on the shoulder of the highway and kept the load from plunging down the hill. The left front tire also helped keep the load on the edge.

Pittman said the first step in clearing the load was getting a crew on the scene to cut and remove the guardrail. Colfax Body Repair's big Kenworth wrecker and a second three-ton wrecker were used at the scene. Also, a wrecker from Kellogg Towing in Spokane was called down to assist.

The trailer was loaded with six new Chevrolet pickup trucks which were not damaged, although one of the pickups over the cab on the truck had twisted out of position and had to be re-positioned.

Pittman estimated the truck, trailer and load of pickups weighed approximately 100,000 pounds. The guardrail took the impact and slowed the mass down enough before it dug in the edge of the highway shoulder and came to a halt on the brink of the hill over the North Flat.

The wreck was taken to the lot at Les Schwab and later towed by commercial size wreckers back to Spokane.

Pittman noted the melting snow on Highway 195 caused icy conditions, and the driver from Kellogg Towing reported hazardous driving conditions were still present as he made his way south from Spokane to assist at the scene.

The trucking company, Hansen & Adkins Transport, was based in Los Alamitos, Calif.