Pittsburg ,PA : Big-rig driver dies after fiery crash into strip mall after veering into a vacant restaurant and exploding near Linscheid Drive on Monday , March 16th 2015

A runaway big-rig truck hit at least three cars Monday before finally veering into a vacant restaurant and exploding, killing its driver, police and fire officials said.

The big-rig driver was pronounced dead at the scene after the truck slammed into the restaurant around 8:25 a.m. at a strip mall in the 3800 block of Railroad Avenue, near Linscheid Drive, Pittsburg police Capt. Ron Raman said.

No one else was injured.

Several witnesses reported the smell of brakes and clutch fluid as the truck moved north on Railroad Avenue after coming down Kirker Pass Road, used by many drivers as an alternate route to bypass Highway 4 between Pittsburg and Walnut Creek. The truck tapped one car on Kirker Pass Road, according to a witness, then appeared to go between an SUV and pickup truck stopped at a light at the intersection of Linscheid Drive.

From there, witnesses said, it veered right into the restaurant, which was closed. The driver and passenger in the pickup truck in the right-hand lane at Linscheid Drive walked away despite severe crash and fire damage to the pickup.

"It was a very surreal experience," said Walnut Creek resident Dave Gardner, the SUV driver. He was not hurt in the crash. "When you get away from the moment and decompress, it almost feels like a second chance at life."

Gardner was waiting to turn left when he said he looked into his rearview mirror and saw an "18-wheeler barreling right at me. ... You think it might be the very end."

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Pittsburg: Big-rig driver dies after fiery crash into strip mall