Editor’s note: This story was updated to reflect that the fuel truck was empty at the time of the crash.
A big-rig fuel truck ran off the 91 Freeway in Bellflower early Monday afternoon, an incident the trucking company said was attributable to another vehicle on the road.
The collision occurred at about 12:25 p.m. on the westbound freeway west of Lakewood Boulevard, according to the California Highway Patrol.
The semi, which was branded as a fuel tanker for Pilot Flying J, collided with a pickup truck, the CHP said, though officials did not detail the events leading up the crash.
A spokesperson for the Pilot Company told KTLA that the current investigation shows the pickup “crossed two lanes of traffic and collided with the Flying J tanker truck, causing it to jackknife and slide into the right-side embankment.”
The tanker truck was empty of fuel at the time of the crash, so “no fuel was spilled,” the spokesperson said.
“Pilot is thankful that no one was injured in this incident,” they added.
The right side of the freeway saw significant traffic backups due to the crash.
