A Caltrans truck that responded to a mudslide early Friday morning was overtaken by a second slide that swept it to the side of a coastal highway in Mendocino County, according to authorities.
About 3 a.m., the crew responded to a slide on State Route 1 about 5 miles north of Westport, a Facebook post from Caltrans District 1 stated.
The Fort Bragg maintenance crew was setting up traffic control and lights to further monitor the situation when a second mudslide occurred, pushing the team’s 10-yard dump truck to the edge of the road.
The guardrail prevented the truck from being swept over the side of the highway and into the ocean, according to the post.
An equipment operator who was inside the vehicle at the time the slide hit was shaken up but uninjured.
“Please *never* attempt to go around slides like this prior to road maintenance crews arriving. Landslides can destabilize quickly and take anyone by surprise,” Caltrans said.
Anyone who comes across a slide before a Caltrans crew arrives is asked to move their vehicle far away from it.