Big-Rig Accident Kills Two in Malibu

By Tim Grenda

Published on October 29, 2007

The unidentified driver of the semi-trailer lost control of his vehicle near the intersection with Kanan Dume Road and failed to use the emergency braking lane in the area to stop the truck, authorities said. The truck collided with a Mercedes-Benz that was turning onto the highway, driving the smaller vehicle into an embankment on the side of the highway.

The driver of a third vehicle involved in the wreck, a Los Angeles County firefighter heading home after battling the wildfires in the Malibu area, suffered a minor ankle injury, officials said.

The area has been ravaged by wildfires and it was feared that a small fire sparked by the accident could cause more fires, but a passing motorist used a fire extinguisher in his car to quickly put out the flames.

Trucks weighing over 8,000 pounds are not allowed on the section of the coast highway, but officials were not sure if the truck, owned by a Glendale trucking company, had exceeded that weight limit.

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