Big-Rig Falls Onto Train Near Colton

A big-rig slammed into a sedan and tumbled 70 feet off a freeway Thursday morning, landing on a train that was stopped near Colton, the California Highway Patrol said.

The truck driver, Douglas Holmes, 27, of Lakewood, hit a guardrail on the connector road between the eastbound San Bernardino Freeway and southbound Interstate 215 at 7:37 a.m. The impact knocked off the trailer’s rear tires, and Holmes veered into another lane, sideswiping a Toyota Camry, CHP Officer Dale Witham said. The agency shut down the connector road for about four hours.

The truck punched through a steel bridge rail and plummeted onto a freight train, spilling about 70 gallons of diesel, plus its cargo of melons and berries, Witham said.

Holmes was not injured. The Camry’s passengers, Denise Williamson, 32, and her 2-year-old son, Jaclin Porter, both of San Bernardino, were taken to Loma Linda University Medical Center, where Jaclin was treated and released. Williamson is in fair condition with a broken collarbone and ribs, officials said.