The father of two young children says he cannot miss out on peak fruit-hauling season. The crash closed Westbound I-90 for hours between Cle Elum and Ellensburg.
ELLENSBURG, Wash. — A Yakima truck driver is counting his blessings after escaping a fiery crash on Interstate 90 this week but says losing the truck he spent years saving for has been devastating.
Just after midnight on Thursday, Jairo Pedroza was hauling a load of apples from Yakima to Seattle when a tire on his semi-truck blew out along westbound I-90 between Cle Elum and Ellensburg.
“It happened right at midnight and at 12:04 the whole cab was just engulfed,” Pedroza said. He said he lost control of the truck after the tire blowout and by the time he hopped out of the driver’s seat the fire was already burning on the passenger’s side.
The crash sparked a massive fire that shut down westbound I-90 for hours as emergency crews worked to extinguish the flames and clear the wreckage.
When Pedroza returned to the scene in daylight Friday, the damage was impossible to miss. Burn marks stretched along the guardrail, while thousands of apples remained scattered down an embankment beside the highway.
For Pedroza, the loss is personal.
“Everybody’s telling me, ‘I’m glad you’re okay,’ and I am too. I’m glad I was able to see my children and everything,” he said. “But I’m like, maybe I would have traded a broken arm just to see my truck.”
Pedroza said he and his wife purchased the truck and trailer five years ago after years of saving and sacrifice. The couple hoped it would help them build an independent hauling business.
“We put everything into it,” Pedroza said. “I had to sacrifice time away from my family to go work at another job before we were even able to do this. We saved up, and as soon as we saved up just enough for the truck, we got the truck.”
While insurance is expected to cover part of the loss, Pedroza worries replacing the truck will be difficult as equipment costs continue to rise.
Still, he says he cannot afford to sit out one of the busiest times of year for truckers hauling Washington fruit.
“I can’t really afford to lose out on the season because this is our cherry season and it just started,” he said. “I need to figure something out.”
Just a day after the crash, Pedroza was back behind the wheel, driving a rented truck.
He said the hardest part may be explaining the loss to his young daughter, who loved riding in the semi and keeping stuffed animals inside the cab.
“It sucks for her,” Pedroza said. “She had all her stuffed animals in there, all her friends. She left them for me to keep me company when I stayed out, and they’re all gone.”
Despite losing the truck, Pedroza says he is grateful to have survived and remains focused on rebuilding the business he and his wife worked years to create. The family has started a fundraiser to help with the replacement of the truck.
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