Tuesday, May 19, 2015

FIERY CRASH WHEN BIG RIG HAULING CARS BLEW A TIRE AND SLAMMED INTO THE CENTER DIVIDER AND OTHER CARS ON 210 FREEWAY IN ARCADIA, CALIFORNIA; 5 INJURED, LOTS OF PROPERTY DAMAGE












MAY 18, 2015

ARCADIA, CALIFORNIA

A car hauler jackknifed on the 210 Freeway in Arcadia on Monday evening, forcing the temporary closure of all lanes.

The big rig was traveling eastbound on the 210 Freeway around 7 p.m. when it blew a tire and slammed into the center divider near Santa Anita Avenue, according to the California Highway Patrol.

The truck rear-ended a couple of other cars and pushed them along the center divider, said Captain Mike Cate of the Monrovia Fire Department.

When the truck came to rest, it was straddling the median with the cab sitting in the westbound lanes, aerial video from the scene showed.

One of the cars hit by the big rig caught fire, Cate said. The flames spread to the cab of the truck.

Five people were transported to the hospital with minor injuries, including the driver of the big rig, according to the CHP.

“A lot of debris from that collision ended up on the westbound side, which caused a bunch of minor traffic collisions, said CHP Officer Ryan Bejar.

By 12:30 a.m., all lanes on both sides of the freeway had been reopened, according to CHP.