A box truck veered into a guardrail near Chino Hills, striking workers who were cleaning up along the 71 Freeway, killing two, injuring another and creating traffic gridlock for commuters Monday morning.
On the northbound lanes of the 71 Freeway, a cleanup crew of about a seven workers hired by Caltrans was working behind the right shoulder guardrail, just past Euclid Avenue. A few feet behind them on the right shoulder was their van with an attached trailer, both flashing hazard lights.
All of the crew members were standing outside the white Ford Transit van except for the van driver, William Hope, 59, of Beaumont.
Around 8:37 a.m. a Peterbilt box truck sideswiped the parked van, causing the truck to lose control, said Rodrigo Jimenez, public information officer for the California Highway Patrol.
ABC7’s on scene video shows the work van had a logo on it for Chrysalis, a nonprofit that provides job-readiness programs to assist low-income and unhoused people in finding employment. Jimenez confirmed the crew members were from Chrysalis.
The truck veered off the road and crashed through the guardrail where the crew was working.
As the truck was descending into the shoulder of the freeway, it struck two of the workers, both San Bernardino County residents, initially killing one — a 54-year-old man who sustained fatal injuries and was pronounced dead on scene by the Chino Valley Fire Department.
The second crew member who was hit, a 36-year-old man, was transported to Pomona Valley Hospital Medical Center with major injuries and later succumbed to them, Jimenez said. Neither man’s name has been released as of early Monday evening.
Hope, the driver of the Ford Transit, was also transported to the hospital with minor injuries.
Officers are still investigating why the truck sideswiped the parked van.
The truck driver, Ruben Gallegos, 34, of Pomona, complied with a sobriety test, which ruled out any impairment, including alcohol or drugs, Jimenez said.
“We’re still trying to determine why the driver lost control but as of now there’s no criminal charges,” he said.
Jimenez cautioned that drivers should move over a lane when they see workers or emergency responders stopped on the side of the road, per California’s Move Over law, giving them “a buffer.”
If drivers are unable to move over because of traffic, Jimenez said motorists should slow down while passing and be alert on the roadway.
The two 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 start getting closer to the commute hours traffic is going to be affected by this,” Jimenez said.