All northbound lanes of Interstate Highway 680 in Walnut Creek reopened Friday afternoon, almost seven hours after a big rig carrying gravel exploded and started leaking fluid.
The lanes were reopened about 12:45 p.m.
About six hours earlier, the rig was spotted swerving on I-680 at Highway 24 when it struck a center divide and became engulfed in flames and started leaking fluid, the California Highway Patrol said. A Sig-Alert was issued at 6:04 a.m.
Fire marshal Robert Marshall said four people - including the driver - were injured, but the injuries weren't life threatening. One person broke a leg, another suffered a head injury when gravel struck a windshield, he said. Three separate car accidents occurred after the rig collided with the center divide, he said, for a reason yet to be disclosed.
Contra Costa Health Services officers went to the scene to inspect the diesel leaking onto the road, Marshall said, and firefighters were able to quickly put out some small vegetation fires nearby, including close to Los Lomas High School.
Police hoped to have all lanes reopened by noon.
At 7 a.m., a big rig carrying a bale of hay crashed and started a fire 20 miles away in Vallejo.
