A Sacramento mother was driving with her two toddlers Monday when a box truck plunged from an elevated Interstate 5 ramp onto San Juan Road, narrowly missing their car. The children escaped unharmed, but the mother suffered broken fingers as falling debris smashed into the vehicle.
Truck Hit Cars Before Leaving The Freeway
According to KCRA, officers said the box truck first collided with two vehicles on westbound Interstate 80. It then continued toward the northbound I-5 transition, struck a median guardrail and fell onto San Juan Road below. Firefighters extricated the truck driver, who was taken to a trauma facility in critical condition, while another crash victim suffered minor injuries.
In an updated report, KCRA identified the mother as Olga Ardelian. She said she was on the way to Target with her babies when she heard a loud noise and saw rocks falling, and that a piece of debris flew into her car and broke her finger. Ardelian said her two toddlers were not hurt, but her car was totaled and she was left frightened by how close the truck came to them.
San Juan Road Has Seen Its Share Of Serious Crashes
The dramatic wreck landed on a roadway that has already drawn local safety attention. Hoodline previously reported that San Juan Road and nearby Truxel Road are part of Sacramento's Vision Zero high-injury network, where officials are focused on reducing severe collisions.
Monday's crash turned a freeway transition into a street-level danger zone in seconds. For Ardelian and her children, the most important detail is also the simplest: the truck landed just after their car passed through its path, and everyone in the family survived.
