Truck Plunges Off Freeway; Injuries Minor

A truck driver trying to avoid a slowing car on the Golden State Freeway in Burbank Friday lost control of his big rig, causing the truck to crash through an overpass guardrail and plunge about 25 feet to Alameda Avenue below, the California Highway Patrol reported.

But neither truck driver Cary Lyons of Sylmar, nor his passenger, nor anyone on the street was seriously injured, CHP spokesman Robert Vargas said.

The accident occurred shortly before 10 a.m. as Lyons was driving north near Alameda Avenue about 40 m.p.h. in the slow lane, Vargas said. A car in front of the truck suddenly slowed, forcing Lyons to swerve to the right when he could not brake sufficiently, Vargas said.

The truck then went out of control, crashed through the guardrail and fell in the middle of Alameda. A chunk of the broken guardrail landed on a car going west on Alameda, damaging the car but not injuring the motorist, Vargas said.

Lyons, 29, complained of pain in one of his thumbs and was treated at the scene, Vargas said. The passenger in the truck, Mike Speer, 36, of Castaic, complained of pain in his hip and was taken to St. Joseph Medical Center in Burbank, where he was treated and released, a hospital spokeswoman said.