Big Rig plows into 10 cars in West Long Beach: 'We're just very fortunate that no one was hurt'

For West Long Beach residents like Alvaro Contreras, a BigRig crash near 33rd Street and Santa Fe Avenue was a terrifying reminder of the neighborhood’s perils.

The stretch of Santa Fe Avenue between West Willow Street and 34th Street is accident-prone, Contreras said as he stood outside his apartment building Thursday moing looking out at where the truck had smashed into at least 10 parked vehicles hours before.

He and other neighbors say a traffic signal or other calming measures are desperately needed to help protect pedestrians, including children walking to and from several nearby schools.

“Everyone is lucky it happened at night,” Contreras said.

The crash happened around 1 a.m. in the 3300 block of Santa Fe Avenue after a BigRig driver fell asleep at the wheel and plowed into vehicles parked along the southbound side of the roadway just west of the 710 Freeway, Long Beach police Officer J. Orantes said.

No one was injured in the incident, and drugs or alcohol were not believed to have been involved, added Long Beach police Lt. Greg Schirmer. The driver was not taken into custody.

Officers initially responded to the call expecting an injury, but no one was hurt, although the crash produced considerable damage, Schirmer said.

Schirmer noted that accidents of this type occur on occasion. “People fall asleep driving, whether it’s a truck driver or someone in their own personal vehicle.”

Elber Serrano and his wife Blanca stood outside surveying the significant damage to their vehicles, a car and a minivan.

They pay only for liability insurance coverage and were worried. In order to get any assistance they would have to contact the truck driver’s insurance provider, Elber Serrano said.

“They told us they could only give us advice,” Blanca said of their provider.

Leo Odorica, part-owner of and resident in an apartment building in the block where the crash happened, said he was surprised to see the truck.

“I know further down by the school they have a sign saying no trailers, no big trucks,” Odorica said. “I woke up to a big boom, ran down the stairs. It was like a war zone, like a bomb went off. I hate to say that but that’s what you see on TV when bombs explode. We’re just very fortunate that no one was hurt. That’s a blessing [in and] of itself.”

City News Service contributed to this report.

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