A truck driver who died in a fiery crash when his tractor-trailer struck a disabled big rig in San Dimas was identified Wednesday as 29-year-old Oxnard man.
Mario Dean died of injuries suffered in the 5:25 a.m. accident Saturday in the far right lane of the northbound Orange (57) Freeway, north of Arrow Highway, according to the California Highway Patrol and a coroner’s spokesman.
According to the CHP, the brakes of a 1988 Peterbilt tractor driven by 57-year-old Johnny E. Potter of Huntington Beach locked up “for an unknown reason,” causing the big rig to stop in the slow lane.
With about two minutes, the 2013 International tractor-trailer driven by Dean crashed into the Peterbilt, CHP Sgt. Mike Maehr said.
Dean’s rig “burst into flames and became fully engulfed” Maehr said.
Potter was taken to a hospital injuries Maehr called moderate.
Road crews cleaned up about 75 gallons of spilled diesel fuel and engine oil, he said.
— City News Service