An overturned logging truck spilled eight massive redwood logs onto Mount Hermon Road, closing part of the intersection of Graham Hill Road and Mount Hermon Road in Felton.
The semi truck from Santa Cruz Timber Company, Inc. overturned while making a left turn from Graham Hill Road onto Mount Hermon Road at 8:07 a.m., according to the California Highway Patrol.
The logs snapped off a stoplight and came to a stop in the roadway.
The truck, which came down from a logging operation on Alba Road, was driven by 49-year-old Frank Delaney of Santa Cruz. Delaney was not wearing a seatbelt according to the CHP and appeared to receive minor injuries during the accident. He declined medical care and a bystander drove him home.
Boulder Creek resident Lisa Inch saw the truck tip over from her car while in her car at Felton Covered Bridge Park.
“I saw the load shift and I saw the back of it come over the side,” Inch said. “Thank God nobody was in a car in the other lane.”
One of the logs, Inch said, appeared to move while the truck came around the corner causing the truck to lose balance and topple over.
Inch ran over to help the driver, and eventually drove him home to Santa Cruz, before returning to the scene.
“He said he didn’t remember what happened,” Inch said.
CHP quickly blocked off the eastbound lanes of Mount Hermon Road while a crew from Santa Cruz Timber Company brought a second logging truck and a log-loading tractor to the scene to place the 30-foot logs on the truck.
During the ordeal, through traffic from Graham Hill Road detoured through the Felton Faire parking lot to Mount Hermon Road where they continued on to Scotts Valley.
A towing company hauled away the first truck and all the logs were loaded onto the replacement truck by about 10:45 a.m. The roadway was re-opened after 11 a.m. after crews from the logging company cleaned up piles of redwood bark and the debris from a gas-tank leak.
Bystanders from local businesses were out en-masse taking pictures and watching the cleanup from the unusual accident.
California Highway Patrol continued to investigate the cause of the accident, but said driving under the influence did not appear to be a factor in the collision.
Santa Cruz Timber Company did not return a phone call Tuesday.
