SAN DIEGO (CBS 8) - A big rig filled with packages flipped onto its side in the North County early Thursday morning, prompting a SigAlert and shutting down the southbound Interstate 5 off-ramp to State Route 76 for hours, authorities said.
A driver of a big rig was traveling from I-5 to SR-76 when he lost control of the big rig, which ended up on its side around 3:30 a.m.
"Was coming around the bend, starting to slide, I lost control," said driver Angel Ursun.
Ursun says he's grateful that he wasn't hurt and that he didn't hurt anyone else. Crews were able to pull Ursun to safety.
After the driver's safety was established, crews then had the job of hoisting the truck into the upright position using cranes, but tipping the truck back onto its wheels was a challenge. Initially, crews tried to inflate large airbags beneath the trailer to try and flip it upright while minimizing any of the damage, but that didn't work and they tore the ceiling of the trailer. So instead crews unloaded the trailer box-by-box and crate-by-crate to make it as light as possible. This process took several minutes and once the truck was upright, they were able to clear the area around 10:30 a.m.
No injuries have been reported.