Stormy Night in the Central Valley

Fresno, CA, USA (KFSN) -- Thunderstorms with hail kept many people awake and created some dangerous driving conditions.

Wednesday morning Valley residents are waking up to remnants of the storm; including some white stuff on the ground which is leftover hail still sticking to the road.

All over the Valley, drivers weren't sure how to deal with this wild and dangerous weather.

A frightening accident shut down Freeway 41 at Lincoln Avenue early Wednesday morning after the driver of a Mazda hit a puddle and spun out in the middle of the freeway. CHP investigators said a big rig plowed into the passenger side, pushing the car up an embankment. It took rescuers over an hour to free the driver from the wreckage.

"It was extremely difficult with the conditions of the big rig sitting on top of the vehicle, fire crews worked to stabilize the big rig itself on top of working to use the Jaws of Life to extricate the victim," said Chris Christopherson with the Fresno Fire Department.

Tuesday, a one mile stretch of Jayne Avenue near Coalinga was closed for several hours after a powerful dust storm led to at least two crashes involving fourteen vehicles. Drivers compared the conditions to zero visibility fog.

A similar kind of crash involving ten cars and three big rigs in Kern County left at least a dozen injured. This crash also shut down both lanes of I-5 from Highway 46 to Highway 58 for most of the evening.

All night booming thunder and lightning lit up the sky bringing with it heavy downpours of rain and flooding, that drivers weren't sure how to navigate.

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abc-30 weather now, christine park

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