Semi-truck loses brakes on summit, slams into traffic

A semi-truck lost its brakes coming down Spooner Summit and barreled through the intersection at Highway 395, striking a vehicle, and driving into the path of three others.

Corrections Officer John Coleman was on his way home about 1:30 p.m. when he spotted the big rig coming down the grade.

"I saw his tires were smoking," he said.

Coleman said the rig blew through the stop, and struck the rear of a white sedan. A black truck with a camper shell driving next to Coleman slammed into the truck's trailer. Coleman, in his hard-top Jeep, went underneath the rig, which now crossed both north and south lanes of traffic. The Jeep ended up mangled and on its roof. Coleman climbed out.

Tyler Main, of California, followed the truck, driven by Nelson Ethier, 61, down the steep grade.

"His brakes were smoking way up there," he said wide-eyed and breathlessly.

Amanda Slaughter, of Gardnerville, who was also following the truck, agreed.

"The whole way down he was smoking. People were slowing down. He wasn't stopping," she said. "He should have used one of those ramps."

Spooner Summit has two runaway truck ramps in the 8 miles between the summit and Highway 395 in Carson City. The ramps are 1,000 feet long, 3 feet deep and filled with gravel.

"It slows a very heavy truck down very quickly," Nevada Highway Patrol trooper Chuck Allen explained.

Both Main and Slaughter said the trucker, from Canada, passed both ramps.

A woman in the white sedan was transported to Carson Tahoe Regional Medical Center. The other drivers, including a Ford truck that also became tangled in the mess, declined medical attention at the scene.

With his face covered in blood and pain in his ribs, Coleman said his wife was going to take him to the emergency room. When he looked at his Jeep, he admitted the outcome could have been different.

"I feel lucky," he said.

Allen said Nelson will likely be cited. The accident blocked traffic in both directions for nearly four hours. Most of the southbound lanes were closed until after 5 p.m. The northbound lanes were blocked by the truck until after 8 p.m.

• Contact reporter F.T. Norton at ftnorton@nevadaappeal.com or 881-1213.