BIG-RIG CRASH SLOWS I-5 TRAFFIC GETAWAY TRAFFIC FOR LABOR DAY WEEKEND AT CRAWL.Byline: Eugene Tong Staff Writer NEWHALL - A big-rig crash Thursday shut down the southbound lanes of the Golden State Freeway The Golden State Freeway is a north-south freeway running through Kern County and Los Angeles County, California. Originally built as U.S. Highway 99, it was re-signed as Interstate 5 in 1964. near Newhall for several hours and left a trail of stop-and-go traffic to disappoint vacationers making an early break for the Labor Day Labor Day, holiday celebrated in the United States and Canada on the first Monday in September to honor the laborer. It was inaugurated by the Knights of Labor in 1882 and made a national holiday by the U.S. Congress in 1894. weekend. The crash that left traffic backed up for more than five miles from Calgrove Boulevard occurred about 12:30 p.m. when a tractor-trailer hit another stalled big rig 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. parked on the right shoulder, California Highway Patrol highway patrol n. A state law enforcement organization whose police officers patrol the public highways. Officer Wendy Moore said. No one was injured, but the crash spilled gallons of diesel fuel and oil and closed southbound Interstate 5 for about two hours as crews cleaned up the freeway, Moore said. By 2:30 p.m., all lanes were reopened. The traffic jam was an unpleasant surprise for Danielle Garrett, who was on her way to San Diego San Diego (săn dēā`gō), city (1990 pop. 1,110,549), seat of San Diego co., S Calif., on San Diego Bay; inc. 1850. San Diego includes the unincorporated communities of La Jolla and Spring Valley. Coronado is across the bay. for the three-day weekend. ``We were moving, like, 15 miles per hour,'' said Garrett, an 18-year-old college student from Taft. ``I wish we had the money to catch the bus up or spend it on a plane ticket.'' Douglas Campbell Douglas Campbell may refer to:
``I have to put up with it,'' he said. ``We spent an inordinate amount of time on the freeway. It's bad. ... One of these days, I hope to have a helicopter to fly over all this stuff.'' But the traffic jam was not all bad. For Kiran Patel, the owner of the gas station and mini-mart near the I-5 entrance on Lyons Avenue, business was buzzing and it was just the beginning of the holiday weekend. He estimates sales are usually up about 20 percent whenever an crash occurs along the freeway. ``It's very busy,'' he said. ``Sometimes a lot of people would come in asking for help (around the traffic jam). I just leave a sign to give them directions.'' Eugene Tong, (661) 257-5253 eugene.tong(at)dailynews.com CAPTION(S): photo Photo: (color) Traffic slows to a snail's pace on the southbound I-5 through Newhall on Thursday afternoon after a crash near Calgrove. David R. Crane/Staff Photographer |
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