A Welcomes tow truck winches a semi back onto Highway 89 after it went over the side at Emerald Bay. CHP Photo
An 18-wheeler hauling 20,000 pounds of Starbucks products was pulled free Saturday after going over the edge on Highway 89 above Emerald Bay in the Nov. 2 snowstorm.
According to the California Highway Patrol, the truck was traveling without chains on the narrow road and began to slide, striking a stalled car.
Both the driver and the passenger bailed out and the truck continued down the steep road and over the cliff.
On Thursday, a tow truck driver, along with local authorities, arrived at the scene in efforts to pull the truck back up the mountain. The tow truck’s chain broke during the effort, and after a failed attempt at getting the truck back up the embankment below the highway, local authorities are working on salvaging the truck.
Emerald Bay was shut down on Friday while emergency crews tried to bring the truck back up, but to no avail.
Things weren’t looking good on Friday morning, with the California Highway Patrol tweeting out that it looked like it would be lunchtime Saturday before the truck got up, saying “work is slow but steady,” on their social media account.
But Welcom’s Towing was able to get the truck unstuck and by 10:35 a.m., the CHP was announcing success.
