by Joe Cottonwood
On October 12 at 8:45 a.m. a truck driver was killed when his fully loaded cement truck overturned near the water tanks at the top of Roquena Drive in La Honda. Fred Eisenstaedt, the driver, was 62 years old.
The truck from GraniteRock was delivering 9 yards of concrete for the final pour of a house. As the driver approached on Esmerelda Terrace, the construction workers offered to help guide him with hand signals around the last hairpin turn over Woodhams Creek. The driver waved them off. He had years of experience and had delivered to this same project on earlier pours.
Making the turn, tire tracks indicate that the rear wheels went off the pavement onto the soft shoulder of the road. The barrel of the truck was still mixing, which may have shifted the load off center. Nobody witnessed the actual collapse, but apparently the truck slid sideways and backward into the canyon of the creek. The cab flipped. The force of 30,000 pounds of concrete falling into a canyon flattened the cab as if it had been put through a crusher.
Joseph Kral of the La Honda Fire Brigade, who lives just above the accident scene, heard it take place. A veteran of many accident calls, Kral was first to respond. The cab was so flattened that the driver could not be seen. With the help of two tow trucks, it took the entire day and into the night to get the driver's body out of there.
Roquena and Esmerelda are private roads owned and maintained by the Cuesta La Honda Guild.
The truck itself was separated from its mixer barrel and was removed the following day. The barrel containing 9 yards of hardening concrete was left behind, to be removed later by a crane.
Many construction workers in the La Honda area were familiar with Fred Eisenstaedt, the driver. Sometimes he brought his terrier dog along with him on deliveries. Apparently not this time.
Lawyers and insurance companies will argue over who was at fault. Meanwhile, a man is gone.
Be careful out there.
(First two photos by Joseph Kral.)
Joe Krall is not affiliated with the La Honda Fire brigade, but does serve his community as a Leader of NEST, and the CERT program.
Posted by: annon annon | October 22, 2011 at 09:08 PM
No offense, but if there's a facebook like button, it'll be much easier for me to share.
Posted by: Elliptical reviews | November 29, 2011 at 08:59 PM
I'm very sad. I just found out today that my friend, Fred Eisenstadt, died, and in such a horrible accident. He was a good guy, a very positive and giving person. He used to help his very elderly mother (in her 90's, I believe.) He would take her to lunch every other Saturday, then to the grocery store. Hopefully, someone else will step up to help her. I'm going to really miss Fred (also known, jokingly, as "Flintstone.")
Posted by: Jillian Marich | January 20, 2012 at 06:47 PM