Truck fire damages Benicia Bridge toll booths

ByLeslie Brinkley KGO logo
Saturday, April 20, 2019
Truck fire damages Benicia Bridge toll booths
A box truck burst into flames at the toll plaza of the Benicia Bridge, damaging toll booths and jamming-up traffic Friday afternoon.

BENICIA, Calif. (KGO) -- A box truck burst into flames at the toll plaza of the Benicia Bridge, damaging toll booths and jamming up traffic Friday afternoon.

It might've been just another truck fire on northbound 680, except for the highly unusual place where the fire erupted -- right at the toll booth.

Just after 1:30 p.m. on Friday, drivers approaching the Benicia Bridge toll plaza saw an alarming amount of black smoke coming from a box truck fully engulfed in flames. The driver escaped without injury and firefighters extinguished the blaze.

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But the California Highway Patrol says toll booth six and seven appear to have been damaged, with the truck smack between them.

Windows blew out, equipment appears to be in meltdown mode, although the toll plaza structure appears to be intact. CHP spokesperson Brandon Correia said they are investigating how long it will take to make repairs.

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Huge boxes of goldfish crackers, dozens of them, are the only sign of what cargo the U-Haul truck might have been carrying.

Traffic was diverted to the left and the right of the damaged toll booths and backed up traffic at Friday rush hour.