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I-5 collapses Newhall Pass
News & Current Events
See other News & Current Events Articles Title: CA: I-5 collapses Newhall Pass Source: BurbankKarl-Scanner URL Source: http://na Published: Oct 13, 2007 Author: BurbankKarl Post Date: 2007-10-13 04:05:14 by out damned spot 8 Comments Per LA County Fire....Northbound I-5 is collapsing at the scene of a major accident in the truck tunnel. Incident: 3700 Type: Location: info as of: 10/12/2007 11:17:15 PM ADDITIONAL DETAILS 11:16PM 1039 MEDIA 11:14PM PER LACO FD ** PLS HAVE UNITS CLOSE DOWN ALL LNS - NB 5 AT BALBOA - THE BRIDGE IS STARTING TO COLAPSE 11:13PM 1039 56-S9 ADVISED ROLL 406 OR OTHER AVAILABLE UNIT TO ASSIST - 56-108 ENRT 11:13PM PLS ISSUE SIGALERT FOR THE NB 5 TK LNS TO 14 AND THE SB 5 TK LNS TO 14 - UNK DURATION AT THIS TIME - THANKS 11:08PM 146 ADV 1 PTY JUST CAME OUT OF THE TUNNEL AND HAS A BROKEN LEG AND NEEDS OXYGEN //1039 LACOFD W/INFO 11:07PM 1039 TO 98-S7 WILL HAVE 98-51 ROLL FOR THIS FROM THE OFFICE 11:03PM CT-PLS START FOR A HARD CLOSURE TO SHUT DOWN BOTH THE NB AND SB TK LNS 11:01PM DIVERT TRFC FM NB AND SB TK RT - 511 WILL SHUT DOWN NB TK LNS 11:01PM SEMI ON SB SIDE IS NOW ALSO ON FIRE - PLS ADV LACOFD 11:01PM PLS ADV LACOFD THERE ARE 2 ADDITIONAL O/TURNED VEHS // NB AND SB IM THE TK RT 10:59PM 3-5 SEMI FULLY INVLD - @ THE TUNNELS OF THE TRUCK ROUTE W/ACCESS ISSUES - PER LACOFD 10:59PM ANOTHER O/TURNED JSO 1020 BLOCKING ALL LANES AT TRUCK ROUT ALSO SIERRA HIGWAY 10:58PM 146 POSS PEOPLE STILL TRAPPED 10:57PM PLS GET UPDATED ETA FROM FD 10:57PM 146 PTY TRAPPED INSIDE 10:55PM THIS WILL BE SB TRUCK RD 10:55PM LACOFD 3-5 BIG RIGS FULLY INVOLVED 10:45PM PER RP SEMI TRK EXPLODED & OTHER VEH TC D W/TRK / PCS OF ENGINE ARE ON FIRE IN RDWY 10:44PM 1039 LACO FD 10:44PM RP ADVSED HE AND HIS GRANDMOTHER WERE DRIVING ON NB SIDE AND SAW A YEL BIG RIG EXPLODE, THE WHOLE SKY LIT UP 0:42PM YELLOW SEMI TRUCK ON FIRE, BLOCKING UNK LN RESPONDING OFFICERS STATUS 11:06PM CHP Unit On Scene 11:09PM CHP Unit Enroute 11:12PM CHP Unit On Scene 11:12PM CHP Unit Enroute 11:12PM CHP Unit Enroute 11:12PM CHP Unit Assigned 11:14PM CHP Unit Enroute |
From AP:
SANTA CLARITA, Oct. 12, 2007 - (AP) Authorities say five big rigs are in flames inside a tunnel after a major accident on a rain-slicked Golden State Freeway in northern Los Angeles County. Fire Inspector Jason Hurd says the accident occurred just before 11 p.m. in I- 5’s truck-only tunnels that run under the regular freeway near the intersection with the Antelope Valley Freeway. Hurd says he has no information about any injuries. The California Highway Patrol says all the truck lanes have been closed indefinitely. |
:sad: :sad: :sad: :cry: It sounds like people will not be going home! Prayers for them and their families.
I know this area well as I once lived in Canyon Country and my business was off of Balboa and Chatsworth. Goin Fer It's Wife |
I have not found anything for sure about the bridge collapsing it may have been debrie from this horrible accident.
http://abclocal.go.com/kabc/story?se...cal&id=5705346 5 Big Rigs Collide, Catch Fire on I-5 at Hwy 14 Tunnel All Truck Lanes Closed Indefinitely AP SANTA CLARITA, Oct. 12, 2007 - Authorities say five big rigs are in flames inside a tunnel after a major accident on a rain-slicked Golden State Freeway in northern Los Angeles County. |
I do not know how accurate this report is but I read this, I hope it is true.
Wow. KNX just said that too - only one person missing at this time. 10-20 people hurt from minor to 2nd degree burns at hospital. GFI |
LA Fire Department was still arriving at 1:29 a.m.
The coroner is arriving. There is one body unaccounted for. Not sure if that implies more than one body is already accounted for. CHP is requesting that the Coroner’s Office assist with and report when they get the trucks pulled out of the tunnel. _______ 2:02AM PLS 1021 THE CORONER AND ADV THERE IS 1 BODY UNACCOUNTED FOR//REQ A REP FM THE CORONER S OFFICE TO HELP W/DOCUMENTATION AS THEY PULL OUT THE RIGS FROM THE TUNNEL - THANK YOU 1:57AM SO211 ADV W/511 NB 5 AT WELDON TURNING VEHS AROUND-BIG RIGS HAVING TROUBLE - TURNING AROUND 4WHEEL VEHS 1:40AM E43 97 CALGROVE/5-TAKING VEHS OFF W/WAY TO GET THEM OUT OF THE CLOSURE 1:38AM 145 ADV HE NEEDS A FLTBED FOR THE TRLR AND A BOOM FOR THE TK CAB AND PART OF THE TRLR-THIS IS A SET OF DOUBLES BLKING ALL LNS-PANORAMA COPIES 1:35AM PER S7 ADVISING TFC IS COMING IN AT 70 MPH AT HIGH SPEEDS - UNSAFE CONDITIONS FOR CHP TO 1023 - DOT WHEN YOU GO 1097 PLS ADVISE US AND WE WILL RUN BREAKS - ALTADENA CHP IS 1098 FOR OFFICER SAFETY REASONS 1:33AM 145 ADV STILL NEED A HD-SB TK RT JSO SIERRA HY OFR-PANORAMA TOW COPIES AND ENRT 1:29AM 56-102 INQUIRING BEST ACCESS FOR FIRE 1:28AM PLS CONFIRM IF THE CMS SIGNS ON THE 14 ARE ACTIVATED ADVISING OF THE CLOSURE PER 89-1 - THANKS 1:25AM E4 ADV HAVE ALL CMS SIGNS THAT ARE JNO 126 READ: SB 5 CLOSED USE 126 I am off to bed for those of you going in the area maybe this morning I hope you can get through safe. I have a feeling it will be a mess down there for a while GFIW |
UPDATE for the Morning Crew just tuning in: 5 trucks engulfed in flames after pileup on Interstate 5 in SoCal
SANTA CLARITA, Calif.Five big rigs were in flames inside a tunnel after a 15-truck pileup on the rain-slicked Golden State Freeway in northern Los Angeles County that left 10 people injured and one missing, authorities said. Fire Inspector Jason Hurd said the accident the wreckage of which stretched for half a mile;happened late Friday in Interstate 5s southbound truck-only tunnels that run under the regular freeway near the intersection with the Antelope Valley Freeway. Hurd said the injuries ranged from minor to moderate, and included moderate burns and neck and back injuries. All 10 injured were taken to local hospitals. One person is unaccounted for Hurd said. The entire freeway was closed in both directions, according to the California Highway Patrol. GFIW |
If only one person died, that's pretty amazing.
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5 Trucks Burn in Calif. Freeway Tunnel Oct 13 10:35 AM US/Eastern SANTA CLARITA, Calif. (AP) - Smoke leaked from both ends of a tunnel early Saturday after a 15- truck pileup on a rain-slicked Southern California freeway left 10 people injured and at least one missing, authorities said. Fire Inspector Jason Hurd said the accident—the wreckage of which stretched for half a mile—began when two trucks collided late Friday and started a chain reaction in Interstate 5's southbound truck-only tunnels that run under the regular freeway near the intersection with the Antelope Valley Freeway. Twenty people evacuated the fiery tunnel on foot, including the 10 injured, Hurd said, and five trucks were stuck inside. One truck driver was unaccounted for, and authorities were worried that more may be missing. "We're going to have to do a very methodical search," Deputy Chief John Tripp told KABC-TV. "There could be unfortunately more people that were not able to escape." Authorities said eight had minor injuries and two had moderate injuries, ranging from moderate burns to neck and back injuries. All 10 injured were taken to local hospitals. Smoke poured from both sides of the tunnel through the night. The majority of the flames had been doused by about 5 a.m., but firefighters had to stay out of the tunnel because of fears that fire damage could lead to its collapse. "The tunnel may be structurally compromised, so we're fighting the fire from outside right now, Tripp said. The freeway in northern Los Angeles County was expected to be closed all day Saturday, authorities said. (This version corrects that the injured walked out of the tunnel instead of being carried out.) GFIW |
Wow! CNN finally has it as there front story! About time they have something about it!
2 dead at this time! http://www.cnn.com/2007/US/10/13/tunnel.fire/index.html Goin Fer It's Wife |
From CNN
:shock: The debris from 15 burned big rigs will have to be removed before the tunnel and road surface can be thoroughly inspected, he added. Wow! 15 it is amazing more people did not die! But even two is two too many! Hope no one from this board was there! GFIW |
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Man, that was a bad wreck that turned into a bad fire. That blue truck's driver's side is missing from the door back. The driver seat is completely unprotected.
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News this morning had 3 dead. Hope that's the end of it. :sad:
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Police Unable to Locate Drivers in Deadly I-5 Pileup
Chelsea Carter, October 15, 2007, 4:27 PM PDT Nine drivers believed to have escaped a deadly tunnel inferno are unaccounted for, and authorities on Monday were scrambling to locate them. Thirty-one vehicles were involved in the pileup in the curving, darkened tunnel on Interstate 5, but the California Highway Patrol has accounted for only 23 people, including two men and a 6-year-old boy who died in the fire. If all of them were at the wheel at the time of the crash, excluding the boy, that leaves nine unaccounted for drivers. The number could be higher if there were passengers. Investigators are confident only three people died, but CHP Assistant Chief Warren Stanley said it's a mystery what happened to the others who left their vehicles to the flames. "We have no idea," Stanley said. "We haven't identified all the vehicles, we haven't identified all the drivers." As the highway reopened early Monday, investigators worked to identify vehicles, some of which were reduced to molten steel in the fire's intense heat. They were also trying to locate drivers, passengers and any witnesses to the accident. Authorities said 10 people were hospitalized with minor or moderate injuries from the fiery crash Friday night. Another 10 people escaped the flaming tunnel unscathed. As of Monday, the CHP had received no missing person reports connected to the crash. Stanley said investigators expanded their search, including contacting local agencies to find people involved. It is unclear where the drivers disappeared to as the tunnel sits under the interstate, nestled in mountain canyons. Investigators haven't figured out what caused the pileup inside the 550-foot long tunnel three days after the crash. State Transportation Department district director Doug Failing said officials were trying to determine the extent of the damage to the steel and concrete tunnel. The fire burned so intensely that it melted concrete and caused reinforced steel bars to pull away from the concrete. State transit officials have since installed supports to buttress the tunnel's roof. Signs of the accident's magnitude were everywhere outside the tunnel - from the blackened, blistered walls to the smashed cantaloupes and dented cans that lay against a pillar where a produce truck smashed into it just outside the tunnel. Thousands of nails littered the ground, remnants of another truck that lost its cargo in the accident, Failing said. During a tour of the inside of the tunnel, Failing showed an AP reporter places where extreme heat from burning vehicles melted holes two to three inches deep into the ground and walls, exposing reinforced steel bars used to support the tunnel. Deep grooves were burned into the ground and along the walls - a path burned by gasoline that leaked from vehicles and ran down the tunnel's gentle incline, pooling against the walls. Wind tore through the tunnel, still black with soot. Failing said it was the wind blowing through one entrance of the tunnel that stoked the fire, which moved from vehicle to vehicle. "We know there is damage. We are not sure how deep into the cement it goes," Failing said. There is no schedule for reopening the damaged tunnel. Traffic, meanwhile, moved smoothly during rush hour after transportation officials reopened all main lanes of the interstate. The fire-damaged tunnel, which routes trucks beneath the highway on a grade down Newhall Pass, will be closed indefinitely. The reopening of Interstate 5 came quicker than expected after officials initially said the freeway might remain shut for days. California Highway Patrol spokesman John Lutz credited state road crews for working nonstop to reopen the freeway. Investigators have determined that 31 vehicles - including big rigs and one passenger vehicle - were involved in the crash 30 miles north of Los Angeles. The driver of the passenger vehicle is among those who escaped, Stanley said. Investigators are waiting for dental records to help identify the dead, who were burned beyond recognition, Los Angeles County Coroner's Lt. Cheryl MacWillie said. Two of the victims, believed to be a 38-year-old man and a 6-year-old boy, were riding together in a big rig, MacWillie said. Officials previously said the child in the truck was an infant. The third body found in a truck is believed to be Ricardo Cibrian, said Espree Campos, a family friend. She said authorities notified the family Saturday they found a body in Cibrian's truck in the tunnel. Cibrian's wife, Victoria Martinez, and Campos's mother left Monday for Tijuana, Mexico, to retrieve Cibrian's dental records from his dentist "so they could identify his body," said Campos, 21. Martinez, a housekeeper, last heard from her husband on Friday night around 9 p.m., when he called saying he was on his way home, Campos said. About two hours later, Cibrian was on the phone with a friend, who heard an explosion, Campos said. Cibrian had been working as a truck driver the past six or seven years and hauled everything from food to clothing, Campos said. Truckers use I-5, the main West Coast interstate linking Mexico and Canada, to haul produce from the Central Valley to Southern California and to move goods north from the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach. It is also a major route from Los Angeles to northern suburbs. Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger declared a state of emergency in Los Angeles County, which will allow the state to deploy emergency workers and equipment and give aid to local government. The 1970s-built tunnel has long been regarded by truckers as one of the most dangerous areas of the freeway. State transit authorities said the tunnel was safe as long as drivers were careful. --- |
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From what drivers have been saying, that tunnel has some bad lighting in it which causes dark spots/blind spots and they have been complaining about it for a while.
I'd still like to know what that 1 car in there, which wasn't supposed to be in there, was doing. |
Cars are always running thru that tunnel. Plus Friday was the first major rain of the season.
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An article I read on this made it seem like the cars only ran thru there during rush hour. This happening at 11 pm would make it seem odd, per the story I read. Then again, you know the media, they will push anything small that means nothing in reality and blow it way out of proportion.
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Believe it or not but it is actually easier to go thru that tunnel at night because the lighting isnt as bad as daytime.......In the daytime your eyes are used to the sun and you hit that tunnel ...its pitch black and a left curve so you never see whats ahead of you.....I have always gone extra slow on that sucker for that very reason......
I just pray for the families...... :sad: |
The news reports are still sketchy. Are there 9 big rigs who have drivers unaccounted for? These guys would have had to had CDL's and legal papers allowing employment in this country.
A whole bunch of unanswered questions. |
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It could be that the 9 guys all wanted to quit and this accident gave them a good opportunity to just dump the truck and avoid getting hit for abandonment. :lol:
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The news media is still unclear if that's nine BIG RIGs where the drivers bugged out. If that's so, no wonder pay is so low for trucking, they're sneaking in illegals. Oh well - time for another letter to my congress critter |
I was heading up I-5 north this past week. A highway patrol car started weaving back and forth in front of all the lanes. He finally stopped the car and wouldn't let us proceed. None of us were sure what was going on.
A couple miles up the road I think we were all in shock. We saw the devastation the tunnel incurred. We couldn't figure out why he stopped us unless it was for the wind-which was incredibly high. However, after seeing the tunnel and the debris we figured that he stopped us so they could haul away some of the debris. It was a very unnerving sight to see what was left. There wasn't any doors, engines and anything outside the tunnel but long shedded pieces of metal. It is absolutely amazing that anyone made it out of the tunnel alive. There were serious burn marks on the outside of the tunnel. It makes you realize just how dangerous our jobs are when we witness something like this. I too agree that tunnel was/is not well lit. However, whenever one of the trucks started a wayward course it would be very difficult to avoid any mishap especially if they were all close to each other. |
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ANY driver, who does NOT allow a safe space between HIS truck and any OTHER truck or vehicle, is NOT doing his JOB! EVERY driver in that tunnel, MIGHT should have deserved to DIE! The fact that only two drivers, and ONE of them's SON, died, is a miracle! It is our JOB to know when the road, or conditions, are dangerous! It is our JOB to drive defensively and attentatively! It is NOT our "job" to crowd 4wheelers or other truckers, and "bunch" ourselves up into an accident just waiting to happen! Well.... on THIS day..... IT HAPPENED! And it happens EVERY day, on some road, on a lesser scale.... but for the SAME reasons! Anyone who puts themselves in a position to be involved in such an accident, doesn't know the MEANING of the word "PROFESSIONAL." I'll bet, right now.... that HALF of them were talking on their cellphones! Hobo |
UPDATE? I was heading northbound on I-5 the other day, and although I get lost in the "maze" sometimes and never paid much attention, I believe I was looking directly INTO the "newly re-opened" tunnel section of southbound I-5 Truck route. It was freshly painted, and had big bright lights installed!
Too bad no one thought of that BEFORE 3 people had to die! I can't help but think that installing lights is a de facto admittal of responsibility by the STATE for the accident! If I were a personal injury lawyer in CA, I would certainly use it as evidence in a wrongful death suit against the state and it's Highway Department. Why are Americans SO DUMB.... that we have to learn a lesson only AFTER someone dies?? Dark tunnels, lead painted toys, drugs with deadly side affects? Why are we always closing the barn door only AFTER the horses are out? I think it is because we have tailored our education system to train Managers and Administrators, instead of Innovators and Leaders!! I want to see this country turn over a new leaf! And I don't care WHAT it costs in lives or dollars! We have become a STAGNANT pool of Litigation and Regulation, and have forgotten our roots of Revolution and Evolution! The American Dream has become a "Bedtime Fable" told in Black and White "movie classics." Replaced by futuristic fantasies that are digitally enhanced and computer simulated! Somewhere along the way, we became BORED by reality and enticed by fantasy! Yet we cannot escape the wisdom of our elders.... we ARE reaping what we have sown! The bill HAS come "due!" Who among us will stand the test, and lead the way out of this abyss? And IF one dared..... which of us would stand WITH him/her? Someone once said.... and probably the last one to do so.... "I know not which course others will take, but for me and my family.... we will stand and fight!" But, perhaps.... that was but a line in a classic movie! So.... we have "fixed" the tunnel, but the road ahead lies still in darkness. |
They also dropped the speed limit to 45.
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golfhobo
Thank you for the update on this golfhobo! I believe that there is NO Accountability when it comes to our officials. The American people are paying taxes upon taxes and yet something like this is not being taken care of, instead we have street cameras everywhere and now they desire to sell off the infrastructure to private enterprise so we can pay tolls :roll: And even though they sell infrastructure to private enterprises we will never see our taxes go down that are paid for DOT and other entities. Seems like taxes should go down and the size of these agencies should shrink if they are going to sell it off. I agree that the people that are being paid to oversee this should be held accountable at all levels. Nothing will happen until the next tragedy occurs. The American people are to busy following the wolf and as long as the wolf does not sink it's teeth into them they are alright with it. Goin Fer It's Wife |
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