A mess on the freeway closed one lane for an extended time Thursday morning. At 3AM Kevin Baugh of Medford Oregon was driving a Volvo semi truck with 2 enclosed trailers northbound on Interstate 5, heading up the hill out of Cottonwood. He ran over some sort of metal debris that was in the slow lane, and it ruptured the big rig’s right fuel tank. Baugh eased the tractor-trailer onto the paved shoulder as about 60 Gallons of Diesel gushed out of the tank and onto the ground. A Caltrans crew arrived and contained as much of the fuel as they could, but about 30 Gallons seeped into the ground.
-Steve Gibson