Buellton, CA -- Investigators say a trucker was high on drugs when his big-rig rear-ended a BMW, leaving a family trapped in a car teetering on a California freeway bridge.
 
The Santa Barbara County coroner's office say 48-year-old gravel hauler Charles Allison Jr. of Grover Beach was under the influence of methamphetamine and amphetamine when he hit the BMW on U.S. Route 101 on Jan. 12.  Allison was killed when his truck plunged 100 feet into Nojoqui creek near Buellton and burst into flames.
 
Sheriff's spokesman Drew Sugars says that the high drug levels would have led to hallucinations or aggressive behavior.
 
An Orange County mother and her two daughters, ages 10 and 10-months, had to be rescued from a BMW, which was teetering on the bridge over the creek. 
 
Allison’s manager said Allison tested negative for drugs just a week-and-a-half before the accident.   Allison's former company, Arroyo Grande-based R&R Auto Wrecking, told KSBY News that Allison had worked on and off for them for about three years and had never tested positive during random drug tests.  His manager said that Allison went back to work about a month before the accident, passing a physical and drug test.