Chico, CO : Pickup driver dies in crash with swerving big rig on Highway 99 north of Chico on Tuesday afternoon, August 2, 2016

A person was killed in a fiery crash Tuesday afternoon on Highway 99 north of Chico, officers said.

The crash happened about 2:30 p.m., when the driver of a northbound big rig may not have noticed in time that traffic had slowed ahead of him, and swerved into the southbound lane, said Adriana Warner with the California Highway Patrol.

The driver of the northbound 2015 Kenworth rig — only immediately identified as a man — then collided head-on with a southbound pickup near Mallard Estates Road, north of Meridian Road, Warner said.

The crash caused the pickup to burst into flames, she said. The driver and sole occupant of the pickup became trapped inside the vehicle and was killed.

The victim’s name was not immediately released, pending notification of family.

The semi-truck sustained major front-end damage but the driver was not seriously hurt, Warner said. The rig was hauling a trailer but it was not immediately clear whether the trailer was empty or not.

Both vehicles came to a rest on a grassy area west of Highway 99.

Neither drugs nor alcohol was believed to be a factor in the collision, the officer said. Other factors, such as distracted driving or mechanical failures, remained under investigation.

No arrests were immediately announced.

The crash sparked a small grass fire on the west side of the highway that was knocked down by Cal Fire-Butte County firefighters.

The two-lane highway was down to one lane for several hours as officers investigated the crash.

Source :
CHP: Pickup driver dies in crash with swerving big rig