UPDATE: CHP officer and Good Samaritan save driver from big rig explosion

UPDATE 6/18/2015 6:00 p.m.: A big rig overturned on Highway 101 at Canal St. in King City Thursday morning and burst into flames, leaving the driver trapped inside. NewsChannel 5 spoke with an officer who made a heroic effort to get the driver out.

California Highway Patrol Officer Andrew Lamar was off-duty when he and another officer came up to the scene and saw what happened.

“A Good Samaritan was hitting the windshield with an object in order to help extract the driver from the semi-truck,” Lamar said.

That Good Samaritan was Brad Moshchetti from San Luis Obispo. We talked with him over the phone after the accident. He said he was driving to the Bay Area when he saw the burning truck on its side and used an axe to break him out. The vegetable truck driver was a 27-year-old man driving from Salinas.

“The driver diverted his attention it appears lost control of the vehicle and went to the right, (then) collided with the bridge railing, and subsequently overturned on its side,” CHP Sgt. Daniel Wheeler said.

Nothing was inside the truck but burnt trays and the truck had caved in. Traffic was detoured to Broadway Street for a couple hours while crews worked to clean up the mess left behind. Debris from the fire was scattered across the highway. The driver is OK and only suffered minor scrapes.

Officers are calling Moschetti a hero.

“He didn’t drive by it he didn’t stop and stand. He sprang into action and his actions really probably saved that drivers life today,” Lamar said.

Moschetti said it was obvious what he had to do or else the driver was going to burn. The accident took more than four hours to clean up before CHP was able to re-open Highway 101.

UPDATE 6/18/2015 3:00 p.m.: Officers said Highway 101 was fully re-opened by 2:55 p.m. The southbound side was closed for several hours while crews cleaned up the mess and officers investigated the crash.

NewsChannel 5 will have more on this story at 5 and 6 p.m.

UPDATE 6/18/2015 1:19 p.m.: CHP said both lanes of Highway 101 are still shut down at Canal St., as officers investigate a big rig crash Thursday afternoon. Officers expect the road to open around 2 p.m.

Traffic is being detoured onto streets near the highway.

UPDATE 6/18/2015 11:09 a.m.: Officers said the driver in a big rig accident Thursday morning on Highway 101 near Canal St. in King City was not hurt.

The driver was rescued from the rig, which was fully engulfed with flames after the gas tank exploded and the rig overturned at the San Lorenzo River bridge overpass, officers said.

No one else was involved in the crash.

PREVIOUS STORY: California Highway Patrol is responding to an overturned big rig at Highway 101 northbound and Canal St. in King City, according to the traffic incident information page.

Initial reports indicate the big rig is fully engulfed with flames and may have exploded.

NewsChannel 5 has a crew on the way and this story will be updated.