November 18, 2015 (The Press Democrat)
Eric Alexander, 43 of Tulare, CA was killed as a result of a collision between his tanker truck, another big rig truck, and three private vehicles.
On a stretch of Highway 37, which is notorious for quick lane merges and sudden traffic stops, Alexander apparently failed to brake in a clinch situation. His tanker slammed into the back of the Mack truck just ahead of him. The cab of his truck detached from the tank, and was thrown into the right road shoulder.
Eric Alexander was pronounced dead at the scene by the Sonoma County coroner.
The dual truck collision causes a chain reaction crash involving three other smaller vehicles. All three of the drivers in the smaller vehicles reported that they were shook-up due to the event, but none of them were transported by ambulance to the local hospital. The driver of the Mack truck rear-ended by Eric Alexander, Jagtar Singh of Pittsburg in Contra Costa County, was uninjured and able to exit his rig immediately after the accident.
The crash caused a back-up on that portion of Highway 37 for nearly eight hours starting at 6 PM. It took a Caltrans crew six hours to clear debris and a diesel spill from the roadway.
