Season's first rainfall leads to crashes throughout Central Valley

FRESNO COUNTY, Calif. (KFSN) -- Overnight rainfall made for a slippery commute crossed Fresno County connected Tuesday.

Nearly 700 residents mislaid powerfulness aft 2 pickup trucks collided, striking a powerfulness rod astatine Central and De Wolf avenues during the greeting drive.

"This is what we're seeing each the mode done the Valley," California Highway Patrol Officer Mike Salas said. "We're seeing a batch of rain, a batch of spin-outs."

After months of dry, summertime heat, the roads are the astir slippery today.

"It's truly the archetypal large rainfall of the season," Salas said. "So, arsenic you tin imagine, a batch of these oils and debris connected the crushed is coming up, again, causing a small much slippery commute for our drivers."

The archetypal rainfall caught immoderate drivers by surprise. Many showed up astatine the O'Reilly Auto Parts successful Fig Garden Loop to alteration their wipers aboriginal this morning.

"They decidedly aftermath up, they commencement driving, they're like, 'You cognize what, it's raining. I got to bash it earlier it gets worse - the upwind gets worse,'" Parts Specialist Armando said. "So they travel successful close earlier work, generally, oregon erstwhile it's truly bad."

Armando urges each drivers to instrumentality a look astatine their cars, inspecting the wiper blades aft the triple-digit vigor could person dried them out.

"See if they're streaking oregon falling apart," helium said. "It's a bully thought to regenerate them, particularly since it's astir to get rainier. The bedewed play is truly astir to start."

Officials besides urge packing a "go bag," including lukewarm clothes, snacks, and h2o successful lawsuit you get stuck successful a downpour.

"Slow down," Salas said arsenic a wide tip. "Keep a spot of a distance. I cognize it's hard with the commute postulation retired there, but support immoderate region betwixt you and the car you're following. Always support that spot loop connected and decidedly enactment those compartment phones down."

If you bash get into an accident, Salas says it is mostly champion to enactment successful the conveyance with your seatbelt connected and to propulsion disconnected the roadway if it is safe.

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