Massive Dirt Spill Slows 680 Traffic In Pleasanton

PLEASANTON (CBS SF) -- For hours, highway crews worked Friday to clean up tons of dirt spilled onto the southbound lanes of Highway 680 near Bernal Ave. after a big rig hit-and-run rollover crash.

While the crews worked, traffic slowed to a crawl and commutes turned from minutes to hours. Finally, at about 11 a.m., the lanes reopened and traffic once again began to flow in all lanes.

The California Highway Patrol said the accident took place at 4:54 a.m. just north of the Bernal Avenue off-ramp. A white Honda Civic made contact with the truck carrying 27 tons of dirt and caused it to swerve out of control.

The big rig rolled over and ended up over the side of the embankment. The Honda fled the scene and remained at large.

"It was right at the beginning of the morning commute," said CHP Officer Kevin Johnson. "Luckily, it was a Friday morning where traffic is not typically as heavy, but it still has quite a substantial impact to traffic this morning."

The CHP believes the Honda driver actually was involved in another hit-and-run accident at the Stoneridge exit moments before the big rig crash. In that crash, the driver of the other vehicle was taken to the hospital with minor injuries.