Truck driver hurt, memory fuzzy after crash on Highway 99

The driver of a two-axle truck that drove across three lanes of traffic on Highway 99 and flipped onto the other side of the road suffered a concussion and can't remember how he got there.

The driver of a big rig, 39-year-old Javier Gonzalez, of Bakersfield, was driving in the slow lane of northbound 99 when he moved to pass the two-axle truck in front of him between Briggsmore and Standiford avenues, said California Highway Patrol officer Rich Kennell.

Gonzalez didn't see what happened next, but he felt something hit the right side of his big rig.

It was the two-axle truck, driven by Enrique Ruiz, 56, of Delhi, Kennell said.

The impact caused the big rig to jackknife and the two-axle truck to cross three lanes of traffic, hit the center divide and flip onto its top on the southbound side of the highway.

Kennell said Ruiz suffered cuts to his face and a concussion. Ruiz said he couldn't remember what happened before the collision.

Kennell said he is investigating the possibility that a tire blew on Ruiz's truck.