California Injury Blog
A five-vehicle injury crash snarled traffic on the 5 Freeway in Santa Ana during rush hour traffic Friday morning, according to a news article in the Los Angeles Times. Officers who arrived at the scene found a pickup truck wedged under a big rig’s trailer, the newspaper reported.
Firefighters had to extricate the car’s occupants from inside the pickup and then remove the vehicle, which was pinned under the big rig. The freeway was completely closed as firefighters and Caltrans crews embarked on the cleanup. Passengers were taken to the hospital. It took firefighters about an hour and a half to extricate them and there is no word yet on their condition or the extent of their injuries.
Both Los Angeles and Orange counties saw a multitude of accidents Friday morning, most of them caused by rain-slicked roads, officials said. The Times also reported a big rig accident on the eastbound Foothill Freeway in Pasadena and three crashes on the Pasadena Freeway.
The Register reported that there were three separate crashes on the eastbound 91 Freeway in Anaheim. Six vehicles were involved in these crashes although no major injuries were reported, according to CHP officials. A portion of the 405 Freeway was also closed Friday morning because of an accident involving a truck lying on its side off the road in a patch of ice plant, the Register reported.
Rain, however light, tends to have this effect on Southern California – especially when it’s the first showers. These are dangerous conditions that lead to slick freeways. A lot of these accidents are also often caused by drivers’ negligence or in other words, their reluctance to slow down. Speeding and reckless driving may be commonly seen even on rainy days on Southern California freeways.
With the onset of winter, please be cautious during your commute. If the roadway is slick, slow down. You’ll find that it’s absolutely worth your time.