An early Friday wreck turned into an all-day holiday travel nightmare on on Highway 237 in San Jose.
Both directions of the South Bay highway was shut down for hours after a massive 60-ton crane truck flipped over into oncoming traffic.
San Jose Fire Department Capt. Mitch Matlow said the driver of the mobile crane was traveling westbound just before 6 a.m. when they swerved to avoid traffic, lost control, went across the center divide and overturned in the eastbound lanes near Zanker Road.
All eastbound lanes were immediately shut down after the crash. Only one westbound lane was closed right away, but authorities later shut down the entire westbound side.
After the mobile crane overturned, there was a separate collision in the westbound direction, Matlow said. A bus rear-ended a pickup truck, sending the truck across the center divide.
Two people — the mobile crane driver and the pickup truck driver — were transported to the hospital, Matlow said. Minor injuries were reported.
Crews late Friday afternoon were in the process of trying to remove the mobile crane from the highway. They are also cleaning up "several hundred gallons" of diesel fuel, hydrolic oil and motor oil that spilled on the highway.
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"We will be out here for many hours with the roadway completely closed as we clean this up," Matlow said.
Motorists are advised to avoid Highway 237 entirely until the scene is cleared. Westbound lanes started to reopen around 4:35 p.m.
