Breakfast Burrito Blamed For I-5 Closure
POSTED: 1:23 pm PDT April 7,
2009
UPDATED: 1:59 pm PDT April 7,
2009
WOLF CREEK, Ore. -- A commercial truck driver crashed while reaching for a breakfast burrito Monday morning, closing a stretch of Interstate 5 in southern Oregon temporarily, police said.Officers cited Bradley Ruonavaara, 62, from Murphy, after he crashed a Kenworth truck that was loaded with 60-foot BCI joists at about 11:30 a.m. Tuesday north of Grants Pass.Ruonavaara told police that he was reaching for a breakfast burrito while entering a right curve, causing his truck to drift toward the center of the road, troopers said. He tried to correct but lost control of the truck, which caused the trailer to flip and spill his load across the roadway, police said.The joists, truck and trailer came to rest blocking both the northbound and southbound lanes of I-5. Police said several people helped to clear the southbound lanes of debris so they could be reopened, but the northbound lanes were closed intermittently throughout the day.Slideshow: Breakfast Burrito Blamed For I-5 ClosureRuonavaara was taken by ambulance to a hospital for treatment of non-life-threatening injuries and was later cited by Oregon State Police for violation of the basic rule.According to the DMV Web site, violation of the basic rule refers to the law that motorists must drive at a safe speed for road, vehicle and weather conditions.
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