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A tomato spill makes a major California highway a marinara mess

By Christopher Dean Hopkins
Published August 30, 2022 at 8:49 AM EDT
A truck hauling a load of tomatoes crashed Monday after a collision near Vacaville, Calif., and its load spilled across several lanes of Highway 80 in Northern California. Crews had cleaned the eastbound lanes but one westbound lane remained closed six hours after the crash, the CHP said.
California Highway Patrol via AP
A truck hauling a load of tomatoes crashed Monday after a collision near Vacaville, Calif., and its load spilled across several lanes of Highway 80 in Northern California. Crews had cleaned the eastbound lanes but one westbound lane remained closed six hours after the crash, the CHP said.

Some California drivers got a saucy surprise in their Monday morning commute after a truck hit the center divider on Interstate 80 between San Francisco and Sacramento, Calif., slathering several lanes in quickly crushed tomatoes.

Sacramento's KTVU TV news reported that the accident, which happened around 5 a.m. local time near Vacaville, caused heavy traffic but no injuries. It took several hours for state Department of Transportation workers to clear and reopen all lanes of the highway, the California Highway Patrol said.

The mess teed up some food humor, at least for those not caught in the tomato traffic jam. "Get the chips, oh wait you are already there," one Internet commenter wrote, referencing the nickname for the CHP's officers.

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