A pickup truck overturned near the intersection of Glendale Avenue and Mountain Street Nov. 5, setting fire to a tree just south of the football field at GCC and injuring none of the occupants.

Carlos Rosales was driving down Mountain Street at approximately 8 a.m. with two other occupants, all construction workers, on their way from Azusa when his brakes failed. Rather than driving into the cars at the bottom of the hill, he veered to the right, running the truck into the embankment.

“Right now, it seems like he chose the best course of action that he was given, and possibly save a lot of people from getting injured,” said Lieut. Stewart Brackin of the Glendale Police Department, who was at the scene.

Concrete and cinderblocks were strewn across Mountain Street. The accident set fire to a tree on campus, sending smoke in to the air that could be smelled as far away as Plaza Vaquero.

The response was a combined effort of the Glendale Police Department, Glendale Fire Department, and GCC Police. The truck was removed by 9:25 a.m., and shortly afterward men in a Dodge Dakota picked up the men and helped collect the few salvageable cinderblocks. Where were they heading?

“I have to get back to work,” said Rosales.

Both lanes of traffic reopened at 9:33.