Three People Were Injured After A Truck Spilled Thousands Of Tomatoes Across A California Highway

Drivers were advised to avoid the area while the California Department of Transportation cleaned up. The eastbound lanes fully reopened six hours after the crash.

California produces more than 90% of the country’s processed tomatoes and almost half of global processed tomatoes. According to the California Tomato Growers Association, trucks like these typically carry up to 50,000 pounds of tomatoes, equal to around 300,000 tomatoes.

Tomatoes spilling from trucks on country roads in the area isn’t unusual, Tyhurst said, but the scale of this crash, and its location on a major highway, was unforgettable. “I’ve been on many calls like that,” he said. “This one just messed up traffic the worst.”