Wrecked big rig removed from Highway 175

Last week’s dramatic crash of a big rig on rural Highway 175 near Hopland forced the closure of the roadway all day Monday and for hours Tuesday as crews removed the wrecked rig and its load of plywood.

Two big rig tow trucks and an excavator Monday pulled up the huge vehicle, which Thursday went over an embankment as the driver took a narrow turn. On Monday, the highway was closed from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. for the effort, Hopland fire Battalion Chief Ron Roysum said.

It was closed again Tuesday morning as crews pulled up the embankment 10 sections of 50 to 60 sheets of plywood, Roysum said.

Video of the initial crash showed the rig entering the turn and then the loaded trailers start to overturn, pulling over the rest of the vehicle as it slips down an embankment. The driver wasn’t injured and was facing the possibility of a ticket from CHP for ignoring signs warning of vehicle-length limits.

The truck was too long for the 39-foot vehicle length limit for the one-lane stretch of highway. Last week’s crash closed the highway for hours.

Highway 175 connects Mendocino and Lake counties via Hopland and Kelseyville. Closures force drivers to go miles out of their way along other rural routes.

You can reach Staff Writer Randi Rossmann at 707-521-5412 or randi.rossmann@pressdemocrat.com. On Twitter@rossmannreport.