Red wine spill

Trucks turns over, losing thousands of gallons of wine

By MARSHA DORGAN
Register Staff Writer

A truck carrying 6,500 gallons of red wine rolled several times on Tuesday afternoon.

The driver of the tanker escaped the collapsed cab with just minor injuries, but much of his cargo will never be sniffed, swirled or sipped.

The crash happened around 2:30 p.m. on North Kelly Road, north of Jamieson Canyon.

The big rig, which is registered to Cherokee Truck Lines, was munched in the wreck, its smokestacks torn off and the valve at the top of the wine tank ripped away. Red wine freely spilled from the ruptured tank. However, crews were able to save about half of the load.

The driver was northbound on North Kelly Road when he took a curve too fast and lost control of the truck, according to California Highway Patrol Officer Chad Pourroy.

The truck, looking like a wounded monster, came to rest off the shoulder of the road after tearing out several feet of the guard rail.

North Kelly Road was closed for about 45 minutes.

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