A truck veered into a guardrail near Chino Hills, hitting workers who were cleaning up along Highway 71, killing one, injuring another and creating a traffic jam for commuters Monday morning.
In the northbound lanes of Highway 71, a plowing crew of about a dozen workers contracted by Caltrans was working behind the right guardrail just past South Euclid Avenue. A few meters behind them, on the right shoulder, was their truck with a trailer attached, both with emergency lights on.
All the crew members were standing outside the van except the van driver.
Around 8:37 a.m., a truck sideswiped the parked pickup truck, causing the truck to lose control, said Rodrigo Jimenez, public information officer for the California Highway Patrol.
ABC7 video at the scene shows the work van had a logo for Chrysalis, a nonprofit that offers job readiness programs to help low-income and homeless people find employment. Jiménez confirmed that the crew members were from Chrysalis.
The truck left the road and crashed into the guardrail where the crew was working.
As the truck descended onto the shoulder of the highway, it struck two of the workers and killed one.
Officers are still investigating why the truck sideswiped the parked van.
The truck driver completed a field sobriety test, which ruled out any impairment, including alcohol or drugs, Jimenez said.
“We are still trying to determine why the driver lost control, but at this time there are no criminal charges,” he said.
Jiménez warned that drivers should change lanes when they see workers or first responders stopped on the side of the road, according to California's Move Over law, which gives them “a margin of safety.”
If drivers cannot move due to traffic, Jimenez said they should slow down when passing and be alert on the road.
Both northbound lanes on Highway 71 were closed Monday morning and into the afternoon and the only lane that was open was the carpool lane, so “as we get closer to travel times, Traffic will be affected by this,” Jiménez said. .
