CRASH SHOWS PERILS OF FREEWAY WORK.Byline: Phil Davis
Roberto Cornejo's family said Monday that he rarely spoke of the perils of repairing freeway walls as cars hurtle hur·tle v. hur·tled, hur·tling, hur·tles v.intr. To move with or as if with great speed and a rushing noise: an express train that hurtled past. v.tr. past at 70 mph, but the dangerous reality of his job came crashing home when he was run down by a careening The careening of a sailing vessel is laying her up on a calm beach at high tide in order to expose one side or another of the ship's hull for maintenance below the water line when the tide goes out. Mercury Sable The Mercury Sable was originally a mid-size car, and is now a full-size car created by the Ford Motor Company and sold under the semi-luxury Mercury brand. It is the mechanical counterpart of the Ford Taurus. on the Ventura Freeway The Ventura Freeway is a freeway in southern California running from Ventura to Pasadena. It is the principal east-west route through Ventura County and in the southern San Fernando Valley in Los Angeles County. . The crash brought normally brisk Sunday afternoon traffic to a standstill and once again highlighted both the dangers of working on the Southland's busy freeways and the wide impact a single crash can have on area roads. Cornejo, a 33-year-old father of four from Pasadena, remained in critical condition in the Intensive Care Unit of UCLA Medical Center UCLA Medical Center is a hospital located on the campus of the University of California, Los Angeles in Los Angeles, California. It is rated as one of the top three hospitals in the United States and is the top hospital on the West Coast according to US News & World Report. . His family said he is alert and doing well considering the severity of his injuries. ``So far, he's doing good,'' said his sister, Raquel Cornejo. ``Put this in there from his family: Be careful when you're driving by those workers. Make it less dangerous for them.'' Nationally, 719 people were killed and 37,000 were injured in highway construction zone crashes in 1996, the most recent year figures were available, according to according to prep. 1. As stated or indicated by; on the authority of: according to historians. 2. In keeping with: according to instructions. 3. a study by the Oklahoma Department of Transportation. California figures were not available Monday. According to the California Highway Patrol highway patrol n. A state law enforcement organization whose police officers patrol the public highways. , Cornejo was cementing a broken center divider on the Ventura Freeway near Parkway Calabasas at 2:25 p.m. Sunday when the driver of a westbound Mercury Sable slammed on his brakes, lost control and plowed into the construction crew, hired by Caltrans to repair the freeway. Motorists who drove through the area before the crash Sunday said they did not see the heavy trucks, barriers and lane closures that normally protect freeway repair workers. After it hit Cornejo, the Sable sable, species of marten, Martes zibellina, found in Siberia, N European Russia, and N Finland. This carnivorous mammal is highly valued for its thick, soft fur, which is dark brown or black, sometimes with white underparts and sometimes flecked with silver. flipped over the divider and landed on a Ford Taurus Wagon parked near the work crew. The construction supervisor in that car ducked and suffered only minor injuries. Another worker, Mark Clayton, 37, of Los Angeles suffered minor injuries from flying debris. The driver of the Sable was not hurt, said CHP CHP Chapter CHP Combined Heat and Power CHP California Highway Patrol CHP Cumhuriyet Halk Partisi (Turkish: Republican People's Party) CHP Chemical Hygiene Plan (OSHA) CHP Community Health Plan Officer Shirley Gaines. The crash brought freeway traffic to a near standstill in both directions for more than five hours. Police reported gridlock Gridlock A government, business or institution's inability to function at a normal level due either to complex or conflicting procedures within the administrative framework or to impending change in the business. on surface streets as thousands of motorists tried to find a way around the crash. Sandy Miles, a Canoga Park resident who works at a bakery store in Agoura Hills, said even her convoluted freeway alternate route home was gridlocked grid·lock n. 1. A traffic jam in which no vehicular movement is possible, especially one caused by the blockage of key intersections within a grid of streets. 2. . ``Normally, it takes me only about 12 minutes to get home. It took me an hour and a half last night,'' she said. ``I went my other way, but it was just as bad as the freeway because everybody tried to go that way.'' ``It's a nightmare for everyone,'' said Malibu sheriff's Sgt. Peter Charbonneau. ``Traffic backs up fast because the surface streets aren't designed to take that many people that fast. People can't move. Tempers run short.'' When the 101 is blocked, as it was two months ago when a tanker truck exploded at Lindero Canyon Road, Malibu has to hold its officers over on overtime to deal with the traffic headaches. ``It's even worse in the West Valley,'' Charbonneau said. That fact is not lost on Mayor Richard Riordan, who just last week expressed concerns over the daily traffic impact of the planned Ahmanson Ranch development on Los Angeles streets. The 3,050-home development will be built entirely in Ventura County, but will be served only by roads in Los Angeles. The city wants Ventura County officials to extend Thousand Oaks Boulevard so it can be an effective connection between the neighborhood and to the Ventura Freeway, which links with few major roads in the hills between Los Angeles and Ventura counties. A Riordan aide said Monday that the latest crash should serve as a warning. ``Clearly, this real-life example underscores the need to make sure that all of the impacts on the community are studied and evaluated early,'' said Deputy Mayor Noelia Rodriguez. ``Traffic mitigation is an issue when considering a major development and extending Thousand Oaks Boulevard is one of those considerations that should be made. We've had major development in Los Angeles and Ventura might want to learn from us.'' Ron Stark, a senior aide to Ventura County Supervisor Frank Schillo, said there are already plans in the works to make at least one additional route out the Ahmanson development. ``If Ahmanson goes through, there will be another route to the Valley,'' Stark said. ``It might be a little better connection to the Valley.'' CAPTION(S): map Map: Scene of crash |
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