6 BIG RIGS CRASH, CLOSE LANES ON I-5.Byline: Judy O'Rourke Staff Writer SANTA CLARITA Santa Clarita, city (1990 pop. 110,642), Los Angeles co., S Calif., suburb 30 mi (48 km) NW of downtown Los Angeles, on the Santa Clara River; inc. 1987. Situated in the Santa Clara valley and nearby canyons, Santa Clarita includes the former towns of Canyon Country, - Interstate 5's southbound south·bound adj. Going toward the south. southbound Adjective going towards the south Adj. 1. truck lanes were closed near the Antelope Valley Freeway The Antelope Valley Freeway is a freeway in Los Angeles and Kern counties in southern California. It is signed as California State Highway 14 along its length. It connects Greater Los Angeles to the rapidly developing Antelope Valley. interchange for more than six hours Saturday by an early morning chain-reaction crash involving six big rigs Big Rig was a punk band from the San Francisco Bay Area fronted by singer/songwriter Jesse Michaels. Michaels performed with the group after the break up of his previous project, Operation Ivy, and before forming the band Common Rider. on rain-slickened pavement. No one was hurt. ``It appears one big rig jackknifed and caused the other five big rigs to basically collide col·lide intr.v. col·lid·ed, col·lid·ing, col·lides 1. To come together with violent, direct impact. 2. into each other,'' said California Highway Patrol highway patrol n. A state law enforcement organization whose police officers patrol the public highways. Officer Vince Ramirez. ``A couple of trailers detached from tractors. That's why it took so long to get the road clear.'' The crash occurred inside a tunnel about 6:30 a.m. Southbound I-5 truck lanes remained closed until 1:11 p.m. Lawn furniture stowed in one of the trailers had spilled onto the freeway. Truck driver Richard Ceja, 54, of Covina said he was driving 35 to 40 mph when he applied his brakes - but he used the tunnel wall to stop him from colliding with the pileup just ahead.``I was skidding. It's like a Slip N' Slide here. It happened like in slow motion,'' he said. In his three years hauling freight along the route, this was a first. ``When I came upon the accident, I decided to go against the wall. I didn't want to cause any injuries.'' A truck slammed into Ceja's trailer. Massive tow trucks hauled wrecked rigs away and Caltrans crews spread absorbent absorbent /ab·sor·bent/ (-sor´bent) 1. able to take in, or suck up and incorporate. 2. a tissue structure involved in absorption. 3. a substance that absorbs or promotes absorption. material for about a 300-foot stretch of freeway. Ramirez would not say whether weather was a factor in the crash, which is under investigation. Alcohol did not appear to play a role, he said. The investigation may be completed next week. judy.orourke(at)dailynews.com (661) 257-5255 CAPTION(S): photo Photo: Tow truck crews and Caltrans employees clean up a section of Interstate 5's southbound truck lanes north of the Antelope Valley Freeway interchange where six trucks - four of which were jackknifed - were involved in a crash Saturday morning. John Lazar/Staff Photographer |
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