Jackknifed Pepsi truck holds up I-90 traffic

A tractor-trailer rig jackknifed on Interstate 90 on Friday afternoon, blocking westbound traffic for nearly an hour.

No one was injured, said Washington State Patrol spokesman Jeff Sevigney.

The Pepsi-filled truck was westbound on I-90 just east of Argonne Road in Spokane Valley about 1:54 p.m. when traffic slowed, Sevigney said.

The driver lost control when he slammed on his brakes.

Weather was a factor, Sevigney said. It hasn’t rained for a while and there was a lot of oil on the road. It’s surprising the driver only collided with a construction barrier, Sevigney added.

Patrick Vandebrake, 49, was ticketed for following too closely, Sevigney said.

Officials also inspected his truck for any equipment violations.

“You just can’t jackknife your semi,” Sevigney said.

“You have to be in control of those things.”

The truck was towed off the freeway about 2:40 p.m.

“We cleared it pretty fast for a jackknifed truck,” Sevigney said.

“We had a response plan in place because of the (I-90) construction project. It worked beautifully.”