Distracted driving caused a crash that has shut down part of Byron Highway in east Contra Costa County and spilled gallons of ice cream into a field off of the roadway this morning, a California Highway Patrol officer said.
A driver of a big-rig carrying ice cream and dairy products was heading north on Byron Highway near Camino Diablo around 5:15 a.m. when he reached down for a soda and veered off of the roadway and into a telephone pole, CHP Officer John Fransen said.
The crash knocked down the pole and caused the truck to overturn, briefly trapping the driver inside and spilling ice cream products into a field just off of the roadway, Fransen said.
The driver suffered minor injuries and was treated at the scene.
A Sig-alert was issued at 5:56 a.m. and all lanes of the highway remained closed in the area as of 10 a.m., according to the CHP.
Traffic is being diverted around the scene as CHP officers await AT&T personnel to repair the downed telephone pole and phone lines dangling over the roadway.
Fransen said the crash is a reminder that “distracted driving is not just texting and using your cellphone, it’s also just reaching down for a soda and taking your eyes off the road.”
“It could have been a lot worse,” he said.
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