Truck that fell from Bay Bridge speeding

SAN FRANCISCO, Nov. 9 (UPI) -- A semi-trailer that plunged off the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge Monday was speeding, authorities said.

The California Highway Patrol said the driver of the fully-loaded big rig was killed after he went too fast through a tight section of the renovated bridge at 3:30 a.m. PST Monday, causing the truck to tip off the bridge and plunge 200 feet onto Yerba Buena Island, The Sacramento Bee reported.

The CHP said it was withholding the driver's name until relatives could be notified.

Sgt. Trent Cross told the Bee witnesses reported the truck was going about 50 mph as it approached the Bay Bridge's "S" curve just east of the Yerba Buena Tunnel -- a 40-mph zone. The speed prompted the truck's cargo of pears to shift and send it over the side, he said.

About 40 accidents have happened along the Bay Bridge's "S" curve since it opened in September, all of which have been blamed on excessive speed, Cross said.