By Larry Judkins
Glenn County Observer
They couldn’t have done a better job shutting down the offramp if they had tried.
This was the observation of one person who was on the scene shortly after a Penske big rig rental truck overturned and spilled much of its load onto the offramp from northbound I-5 at Newville Road (Highway 32) Wednesday afternoon.
The truck itself, resting on its left side, was spread across both lanes of the offramp, not far south of the stop sign.
The roof of the trailer was ripped open and much of the trailer’s contents had spilled onto the roadway.
The items, apparently the belongings of a family that was in the process of moving, consisted of furniture, boxes, and other personal things.
The accident occurred at about 3:43 p.m. on Wednesday, August 25. Orland firefighters and police officers, as well as CHP officers, arrived at the scene a short time later.
Ambulance personnel also responded, but no one appeared to be seriously injured, and the ambulance departed.
It also wasn’t long before the large tow truck from Bambauer Towing arrived, and after that, a truck from A+ Towing. Bambauer was able to slide the Penske truck off the offramp and onto the large gravel area on the southeast corner of the offramp and Newville Road.
Orland police officers, led by Chief Joe Vlach himself, and towing workers then began moving the boxes and other items that had fallen out of the moving truck from the roadway over to the gravel area.
A pickup and flatbed trailer were brought in and the boxes and things were picked up and loaded.
However, this was not the end of the reloading process. A large semi and trailer were brought in and the contents still inside the Penske trailer were carried to the other big rig’s trailer, again by the tow companies’ workers and the Orland police officers.
At some point after the Penske truck was unloaded, the vehicle was pulled over onto its wheels and towed away by Bambauer Towing.
The Penske rental company never got back in touch with the vehicle renters while The Observer was still on-scene, but the belongings were reportedly all taken to a protected area for safekeeping.
Family members of the renters were on-scene with separate vehicles.
The offramp was reopened by the CHP not long after the Penske truck and the items from it were moved from the roadway.
The Glenn County Observer 