Truck flips on Alpine Road Truck flips on Alpine Road (July 28, 2004)

A dump truck full of dirt and pieces of concrete overturned near the intersection of Alpine Road and Westridge Drive in Portola Valley at approximately 10:50 a.m. Friday, July 16.

The driver told sheriff's deputies that the truck's brakes gave out while he was driving down the slope of Westridge Road. When he attempted to use the emergency brake, the vehicle fishtailed and slid across the road, said Lt. Ken Jones of the San Mateo County Sheriff's Office.

The truck also clipped the back of a Mercedes Benz that was turning left from Westridge onto Alpine Road, Lt. Jones said. The truck flipped over and destroyed part of the Ford Field fence on Alpine Road, he said.

The truck driver was wearing his seatbelt and there were no injuries reported. The truck was going about 35 mph when it rolled, said Lt. Jones.

Lt. Jones said that the accident did not create a major impediment to traffic because it was mostly off the side of the roadway, although one lane of traffic was stopped in order to right the vehicle.

Howard Young, director of Portola Valley public works, visited the scene to estimate the cost of the damages to the fence and to the surface of Alpine Road.

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