Two garbage trucks crash near Healdsburg

In separate crashes Wednesday morning minutes apart at the same place, two Redwood Empire Disposal garbage trucks overturned on Highway 101 near Healdsburg, blocking northbound lanes and spilling yard waste, according to the CHP.

Just after 9 a.m. the northbound drivers headed down a curve north of Dry Creek Road and ?apparently lost control on the rain-slick roadway near the Lytton Springs Road offramp, CHP Officer Jon Sloat said.

The first truck took out about 100 feet of guardrail in the center divider and overturned, landing in the fast lane.

The upended truck also spilled a large amount of yard clippings onto the highway, Sloat said.

“About five minutes later, the same kind of truck, same company, loses control and overturns onto the right shoulder,” Sloat said.

The second driver was taken by ambulance to a hospital with apparently minor injuries. The first driver didn’t appear to be injured.

The CHP was looking into what happened but preliminarily it appeared the drivers were going too fast for the conditions - rain-slick roads, Sloat said.

The crashes caused traffic to back up between central Healdsburg and Dry Creek Road, where traffic was being diverted off the highway.

The full-sized garbage trucks needed big rig tow trucks to get them onto their wheels. The CHP had the northbound lanes open by 12:20 p.m.

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