No injuries but big mess in Gardnerville crash

GARDNERVILLE - Fog and speed were the suspected culprits in an 8:10 a.m. accident that closed Mottsville Lane for several hours Thursday. There were no injuries in the crash that left one cement truck on its side and a dump truck mangled.

Driver Chris Heckathorn, an employee of Bing Materials, was driving eastbound with a loaded cement truck to a Mottsville Lane address when he made a wrong turn at 698 Mottsville Lane, about one mile west of State Route 88. Realizing his mistake, he was backing out of the driveway when a westbound dump truck owned by the C.H. Harvey Company of Sparks T-boned the Bing cement truck, said Deputy James Booth of the Douglas County Sheriff's Office.

"I was stopped when he hit me," Heckathorn said.

Booth said visibility, which is worse against the eastern slope of the Sierra, was about 200 feet at the time of the accident. Citations were pending.

The Douglas County Sheriff's Office, engines from the East Fork Fire District and an ambulance responded to the accident. By 10 a.m., the oil and gas that spilled from a ruptured 50-gallon tank were being mopped up with absorbent materials.

The overturned cement truck was blocking the driveway of rancher Charlie Hone. He said his cows were getting hungry.

"I can't feed them until I can get to my driveway," he said. "I'm sure they're getting anxious, but they'll be OK.

"I'm just glad the truck didn't hit my fence."

Hone's fence will likely be in danger until the middle of next week. By then a small storm system will start to come through and begin to erode the inversion, said Weather Service technician Jessica Kielhorn.

The fog is not unusual for the eastern valleys of the Sierra, but its staying power is.

"I understand last time we had a long stretch like this was back in 1993," said meteorologist Ray Collins.

"I remember it was very similar. We had a lot of snow late in '92 and going into '93 we had a long stretch of cold. When you get some heavy snow and a ridge of high pressure comes in and traps that cold air and moisture you're in for a long period of foggy conditions."

Kielhorn said there is a slight chance of rain or snow by Wednesday. Today expect highs in the mid 40s with big changes depending on elevation. Because of the inversion, those at higher elevations are experiencing warmer temperatures. Truckee was 54 degrees on Thursday.

Lows should be in the 20s. The weekend outlook is about the same, she said.

Contact reporter Susie Vasquez at svasquez@recordcourier.com or 782-5121, ext. 211. City editor Kelli Du Fresne contributed to the story.