Bridge in US desert of California snaps in heavy rain

An elevated section of Interstate 10 collapsed amid heavy rains in a remote desert area of California, cutting off traffic between the state and Arizona and leaving a driver injured.
A bridge that carries the eastbound interstate about 4.5m above a normally dry wash about 80km west of the Arizona state snapped and ended up in the flooding water below, the California Highway Patrol said, blocking all traffic headed toward Arizona.

The westbound section of the freeway remained intact, but traffic was being stopped while it was inspected for safety, and a pair of small nearby highways that could possibly serve as detours were also closed.
One driver had to be rescued from a pickup truck that crashed in the collapse and was taken to a hospital with moderate injuries, the Riverside County Fire Department said. A passenger from the truck was able to get out without help and wasn't hurt.
"The 10 is a dire situation," California transport spokeswoman Terri Kasinga said.

Pamala Browne, 53, and her daughter were driving from Flagstaff, Arizona, to Palm Desert, California, when they got stranded after the westbound lanes were shut down.
"Oh my God, we are so stuck out here," Browne told the Desert Sun newspaper. She said "we're talking miles" of cars waiting for a route to open.
The rains came amid a second day of showers and thunderstorms in southern and central California that were setting rainfall records.
July is typically the driest month in Southern California.