CHP REPORT FAULTS DRIVERS IN 2 PILEUPS; PALMDALE TRUCKER ALSO BLAMED FOR NOT ADJUSTING TO CONDITIONS.

Byline: Stacy Brown Daily News Staff Writer

All of the nearly two dozen truckers and other drivers involved in two multivehicle crashes during heavy rains earlier this month were driving too fast for the conditions - darkness, rain and limited visibility - investigators say.

That includes Rick Bloom, the Palmdale trucker fired for damaging company property after he tried to avoid plowing into the wreckage, according to the California Highway Patrol.

Officer Doug Sweeney said a thorough investigation concluded last week revealed that the Jan. 3 pileup, which involved 14 big rigs in the Newhall Pass, could have been avoided had the drivers exercised caution.

``They were going too fast for the conditions they faced,'' Sweeney said, adding that the speed might not have ``necessarily been above the legal limit,'' but simply too swift for a wet roadway.

Bloom was fired by Conway Truck Loading Services after the company said it conducted a private investigation that determined he was at fault.

When reached at his Palmdale home, Bloom maintained he did the right thing. ``I would do it again. The guy said I saved his life,'' Bloom said.

Bloom said he did everything he could to minimize damage to his company's truck and danger to other motorists, especially trucker John Hunt, whose rig was already part of the pileup Bloom discovered upon coming out of a tunnel on the rain-slick lanes of the Golden State Freeway.

Hunt's vehicle had been hit by two other big rigs when he looked through his windshield and saw Bloom's truck bearing down on him.

``I'm thinking, we're dead,'' Hunt said after the accident. ``Then when he did what he did (and jackknifed). I thought he was an angel. I couldn't believe it - I was spared.''

While other companies involved in the pileup came to their drivers' defense, Bloom was the only one fired.

Chris Westrup of Interstate Brands said while the organization did conduct an investigation through its insurance company, the major concern was the health of driver Willie Roddie.

``He is healthy and still with us, we just wanted to make sure he was fine and our investigation so far has not concluded who was at fault,'' Westrup said.

``Once it's determined that it's not the fault of our driver, everything is fine,'' said Hunt's supervisor, David Troy of Golden State Overnight Trucking in Santa Fe Springs.

Pablo Orejel, who also jackknifed his rig to avoid others, agreed there was little time to react.

``Everything happened too fast,'' said Orejel, who was driving the 10th truck to emerge from the truck bypass tunnel. ``It was a matter of seconds, and the road was too wet and slippery.''

Company representatives from Rawlings, Penske Truck Leasing and others confirmed Tuesday that no other drivers had been terminated because of the pileup.

CHP officers said the Rawlings truck was the first rig out of the dark tunnel to jackknifed and skid out of control.

Less than one week after that pileup, a crash involving 10 trucks and two buses as well as a CHP squad car took place in nearly the same spot.

Sweeney said it is important that everyone use caution when driving in the rain. ``We want people to know when it's raining the road becomes slippery and everyone should adjust their speeds,'' Sweeney said.