A trucker escaped injury Monday when a big rig smashed into the center divider and caught fire on Interstate 10 east of Indio.
The crash was reported about 2 a.m. on the westbound I-10, west of the Cactus City rest stop, according to the California Highway Patrol.
Following the crash, the semi leaked an unspecified amount of fuel, necessitating a hazardous materials cleanup response that affected the flow of traffic throughout much of the morning.
Alternating lane closures stemming from the cleanup efforts affected the thoroughfare until about 1 p.m.