James Mosqueda, 51, of Woodland also got a special hazardous materials endorsement last year from the federal Transportation Security Administration despite regulations that can disqualify applicants with multiple convictions. To get it, he had to undergo an FBI criminal history check and an intelligence background check.

"It's reprehensible," said Assemblyman Pedro Nava, D-Santa Barbara, who chairs both the Assembly Transportation Committee and the Joint Committee on Emergency Services and Homeland Security. "Someone with that record has no business driving hazardous materials on our highways."

The elevated section of highway that funnels traffic from the Bay Bridge to a number of key freeways was destroyed early Sunday after flames from James Mosqueda's overturned gasoline truck caused part of that overpass to buckle and collapse onto a roadway below.

Although a predicted traffic nightmare failed to materialize Monday as workers heeded the dire warnings and stayed home, or seized on free public transportation, transit officials cautioned it will be months before things return to normal for Bay Area commuters.

Authorities said drugs and alcohol were not factors in the crash, and that Mosqueda may have lost control because he was speeding from a refinery in Benicia to a gas station near the Oakland airport.

He served two years and eight months in prison following a 1996 arrest for heroin possession in Sacramento County, court records show. His criminal rap sheet stretching back to 1981 also includes arrests for burglary, felony drug charges and possession of stolen property, according to the California Department of Corrections and the Sacramento County District Attorney's office.

His brother, Ruben Mosqueda, 44, an artist living in San Francisco, said his brother has been sober for more than a decade and now works as a drug and alcohol counselor with a Hispanic health organization.

"All that happened over 10 years ago," Ruben Mosqueda said of his brother's criminal record. "A lot has changed."

Still, in light of Mosqueda's numerous convictions, the Transportation Security Administration said late Monday it would review whether he should have been cleared to drive a gasoline tanker.

"Under TSA HazMat rules, individuals who have been convicted of certain felonies will not be able to hold a hazardous materials endorsement," said TSA spokeswoman Andrea McCauley. "In this case, we are going to further investigate this case and look into the individual details."

TSA rules require those convicted of drug offenses, robbery and many other crimes to wait seven years before qualifying for the HazMat endorsement. There is also a five-year waiting period after a convict is released from prison. Since Mosqueda was released in 1998, he appears to have become eligible in 2003.

However, under TSA rules multiple felony convictions can also permanently disqualify many drivers.

There is also nothing that prevents a convicted felon who has served his sentence from getting his commercial truck driver's license in California -- so long as he has a clear driving record, CHP Chief Steve Vaughn said.

Still, officials quickly called for a review of rules that allow a person with a criminal background to drive a truck carrying more than 8,000 gallons of gasoline through a densely populated area.

"We should look into the policy that would give a driver with a checkered past like this the ability to drive such a hazardous vehicle," said Nathan Ballard, a spokesman for San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom.

Investigators examined evidence at the accident scene Monday to determine what caused the collision and whether Mosqueda was at fault. None one died and he was the only person injured. He walked away from the scene and hailed a cab and remained hospitalized Monday with second-degree burns.

His mother, Alicia Mosqueda, said it was an accident, and he shouldn't be blamed for it.

"It was a real miracle that he was able to walk out alive," she said in a telephone interview. "God knows he had no fault in this. He was just doing his work."

Crews also began hauling away charred debris and engineers prepared for reconstruction, which could take two to three months. Inspectors X-rayed about a dozen pillars supporting the ramp near the collapsed section to see if they could be salvaged, California Department of Transportation spokesman Jeff Weiss said.

He cautioned that a scarcity of steel resulting from a building boom, in China and India could slow reconstruction.

"We can't get steel like we used to," Weiss said.

The damaged roads, vital arteries linking San Francisco to its eastern suburbs, carry some 80,000 vehicles a day. Originally built in the 1950s, the collapsed road was retrofitted in the late 1990s to withstand earthquake damage.

Rather than rebuild the ramp to existing blueprints, engineers would likely overhaul the interchange to conform to today's more stringent seismic standards, Weiss said.

Emergency response officials were also doing their own analysis for lessons they can apply to the region's inevitable next earthquake, or a terrorist attack.

"It's almost your perfect tabletop exercise -- real pristine, clean, and nobody got hurt," CHP Officer Mike Wright said.

Newsom said city officials were also looking at the tanker crash for clues for how to shore up their emergency response plan.

"Every time we go through this, it's beneficial because we're able to see the gaps," he said. "This is not a dress rehearsal, it's serious, but we didn't lose any lives."

Applying lessons from past earthquakes could also be key to a quick recovery.

After the 1989 Loma Prieta quake collapsed a section of the Bay Bridge's upper span, crews were able to complete the repairs in just one month. The Santa Monica Freeway was reopened in 66 days, well ahead of schedule, after it was damaged in the 1994 Northridge earthquake.

Those projects were sped along by incentive clauses that reward contractors for getting the job done ahead of time and fine them for delays.

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's emergency declaration authorized free transit on the Bay Area Rapid Transit rail system, ferries and buses. Many apparently took advantage: Parking lots at outlying BART stations like El Cerrito and Pittsburg-Baypoint filled up earlier than usual as commuters tried to beat the rush they imagined was coming. Others took the day off or telecommuted.

"I'm mad," said Crystal McSwain, who has a commuter pass for the trans-bay bus, but was taking BART -- a more expensive option. "My life is upside down, and I don't know how long it's going to take."