CHP: Big rig in massive Hwy 1 crash not registered, failed inspections

UPDATE: 11/14/2018 6:50 p.m. California Highway Patrol says the truck involved in the horrific accident Tuesday morning was not registered and should not have been on the road.

The big rig reportedly owned by JVillas Trucking caught fire in a massive pile up in Santa Cruz around 10 a.m. Tuesday.

According to the California Highway Patrol, an estimated 21 cars were involved in the accident on Highway 1 near River Street.

CHP told KION they believe the brakes on the big rig failed when the driver exited Highway 17 to Highway 1, causing the truck to plow into several cars.

Officer Sam Courtney with CHP says the truck had issues before the crash, but after going over Highway 17 the brakes completely failed, “this truck has come over highway 17 which has a significant downgrade, you have brakes that are ineffective and so whatever is left of those brakes by the time you’re done with that they’re gone.”

Sgt. Grant Boles was on scene Tuesday, he said, “a big rig that was coming down highway 17, fully loaded with dirt and the preliminary investigation revealed that the brakes went out. We had numerous witnesses that called in and observed the tires and brakes smoking on the vehicle.”

11 people suffered injuries in the crash. No fatalities have been reported. “It hit so many vehicles and collided with guard rails and embankments and finally came to a stop after hitting 21 cars. It resulted in numerous injuries including 2-3 critical they were transported to bay area hospitals and local hospitals and others transported with minor injuries,” said Sgt. Boles.

Drivers were advised to avoid Highway 1 towards River Street for most of the day Tuesday.

KION spoke with several people involved in the crash who said it all happened very quickly.

Driver, David Heller said, “I saw the tractor trailer coming through at a really high speed and he was running into cars and bouncing over cars and I was just trying to relax, and I knew I was gonna get hit, I saw a car coming.”

Heller wasn’t injured and said he’s surprised the outcome was not worse.

Another driver, Bill Scholtz, whose car was also hit said one positive thing that came from this was the amount of help from strangers, “when the accident was over, that car was on fire and people dragged the driver out of the car as it was on fire.”

According to CHP, the big rig involved in the accident was not registered to be on the highway. Also, according to the Department of Transportation Jvillas company has been inspected 27 times over the past two years and of those inspections, 76 percent qualified to be out of service.

CHP could pursue criminal charges after the investigation, “you have two sides to this, you have the driver, what the driver is responsible for and what they knew of and because we’re dealing with a commercial vehicle you also have the trucking company and what they’re allowing to be sent out on the road to do jobs.”

Some drivers tell KION semi’s should not even be allowed on Highway 17, “I doubt that could happen, but that would be great, or maybe have them drive at a certain time only,” says Leeann Levitre.

CHP says it’s not that simple and there are other aspects to consider, “we have so many trucks everyday day in and day out make it over 17, no problem. And these are trucks that are following the rules, their brakes are working, they’re following weight limits and they’re able to go over 17 and provide goods and services throughout the state and we count on those truckers.”

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UPDATE: 11/14/2018 11:28 a.m. Highway 1 is back open after a big rig caught fire in a massive pile up in Santa Cruz around 10 a.m. Tuesday.

According to the California Highway Patrol, an estimated 21 cars were involved in the accident at Highway 1 near River Street.

CHP told KION they believe the brakes on the big rig failed when the driver exited Highway 17 to Highway 1, causing the truck to plow into several cars.

Sgt. Grant Boles with CHP said, “this morning we had a big rig that was coming down highway 17 fully loaded with dirt and the preliminary investigation revealed that the breaks went out. We had numerous witnesses that called in and observed the tires and breaks smoking on the vehicle.”

About 11 people suffered injuries in the crash. No fatalities have been reported. “”It hit so many vehicles and collided with guard rails and embankments and finally came to a stop after hitting 21 cars. It resulted in numerous injuries including 2-3 critical they were transported to bay area hospitals and local hospitals and others transported with minor injuries,” said Sgt. Boles.

Drivers were advised to avoid Highway 1 towards River Street for most of the day.

KION spoke with several people involved in the crash who said it all happened very quickly.

Driver, David Heller said, “I saw the tractor trailer coming through at a really high speed and he was running into cars and bouncing over cars and I was just trying to relax, and I knew I was gonna get hit, I saw a car coming.”

Heller wasn’t injured and said he’s surprised the outcome was not worse.

Another driver, Bill Scholtz, whose car was also hit said one positive thing that came from this was the amount of help from strangers, “when the accident was over, that car was on fire and people dragged the driver out of the car as it was on fire.”

The big rig belonged to a San Jose company called Jvilla.

According to CHP, the big rig involved in the accident was not registered and failed inspection 65 percent of the time. CHP said they inspected 27 of Jvilla’s vehicles and of those inspections, 76 percent qualified to be out of service.

KION’s Ashley Keehn will have more on possible criminal charges against the big rig owner at 5 and 6 p.m.

PREVIOUS STORY: 11/13/2018 11:45 a.m.

A big rig caught fire in a massive pile up on Highway 1 in Santa Cruz.

According to the California Highway Patrol, an estimated 21 cars were involved in the accident at Highway 1 near Ocean Street around 10 a.m. Tuesday.

CHP told KION they believe the brakes on the big rig failed when the driver exited Highway 17 to Highway 1, causing the 18-wheeler to plow into several cars.

About 11 people suffered injuries in the crash. No fatalities have been reported.

Drivers are advised to avoid Highway 1 towards River Street for the next two to three hours.

Northbound Highway 1 is closed from the Ocean Street/ Mission Street split near the “fish-hook” to River Street.

This is a breaking news story. Check back for updates.

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picture courtesy: Megan Devivo