Long Beach Freeway crash kills two
Two drivers speeding on the 710 Freeway triggered a multi-vehicle wreck Monday that killed two and critically injured three others, while shutting down a portion of the freeway for several hours, authorities said.
One person was later arrested.
The accident caused a traffic jam several miles long as crews worked to pull out the victims and clear up the wreckage.
The crash involved three big rigs, a two-axle box truck and a red Nissan compact carrying four passengers.
The accident occurred north of the Firestone Boulevard exit.
The Nissan was pinned beneath one of the big rigs, and it took rescuers more than an hour after the 12:29 p.m. wreck to extricate the two women in the car and the driver of one of the big rigs, authorities said.
Both of the women were seated on the right side of the car -- one in front and one in the back -- and were pronounced dead at the scene, said Los Angeles County Fire Department Inspector Sam Padilla.
The car’s driver and the man seated behind him were critically injured, as was the trapped driver of one of the trucks.
According to Bill Preciado, spokesman for the California Highway Patrol in East Los Angeles, the driver of one of the big rigs -- a Keystone Freight van, photos show -- apparently lost control of the vehicle.
The rig traveled from the far right northbound lane across three lanes, hitting the Nissan and the box truck and pushing them into the center divider.
Two big rigs following the Keystone truck collided, Preciado said. It wasn’t clear if they had run into or been hit by the Keystone truck.
The driver of one of those big rigs was among the three men critically injured.
Investigators determined late Monday that the crash was caused by a speeding Ford pickup and a Mustang convertible, Preciado said.
The driver of the pickup, Armando Casares, 35, of Long Beach, was arrested for investigation of hit and run, Preciado said. Casares was being held on two counts of gross vehicular manslaughter, reckless driving and hit-and-run, all felonies.
Authorities were still seeking the driver of the Mustang.
All but one of the four northbound lanes of the Long Beach Freeway remained closed until nearly 7:30 p.m. while authorities cleared away wreckage and CHP officers investigated the accident.
Names of the victims -- all adults -- were not released.
*
Times staff writer Stuart Silverstein and the Associated Press contributed to this report.
Start your day right
Sign up for Essential California for news, features and recommendations from the L.A. Times and beyond in your inbox six days a week.
You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times.
