Early Morning Crash Creates Bizarre Beer Barricade on 210 Freeway
In a scene straight out of a comedy sketch, a multi-vehicle crash early Tuesday morning turned a stretch of California’s 210 Freeway into a sudsy obstacle course—spilling thousands of beer cans and multiple kegs across traffic lanes in Azusa, part of the San Gabriel Valley.
What Happened?
According to the California Highway Patrol (CHP), the incident began around 2:55 a.m. when a westbound semi truck struck another semi that was disabled on the right shoulder near Vernon Avenue. The impact unleashed a cascade of beer kegs and aluminum cans onto the roadway.
Local CBS affiliate KCAL reported that as many as 5,000 beer cans scattered across the freeway, though officials have not confirmed the exact count or whether liquid beer soaked the asphalt.
Cascading Collisions
The initial crash triggered a chain reaction:
- Three additional passenger vehicles collided with debris
- Another tractor-trailer was involved in the secondary pileup
- One driver was hospitalized for pain; others reported injuries but declined transport
Infographic: Freeway Crash Timeline
| Time | Event |
|---|---|
| 2:55 a.m. | Initial semi-truck collision near Vernon Ave |
| 3:00–3:15 a.m. | Secondary crashes as vehicles hit debris |
| 3:30 a.m.–7:00 a.m. | Two right lanes closed; cleanup underway |
| Post-7:00 a.m. | All lanes reopened; traffic normalizing |
Not the First Bizarre Spill
This isn’t the first time unusual cargo has turned highways into chaos zones:
- 2025, Texas: 18-wheeler rollover spilled millions of dimes, shutting down a highway for 14 hours
- 2022, Memphis: Alfredo sauce spill created a “cheesy, buttery mess” on I-40
[INTERNAL_LINK:unusual-highway-spills]
