Freeway Truck Crash Near Castaic Kills 1
One person was killed Sunday in a collision involving a tanker truck, a tractor-trailer and a camper truck on the Golden State Freeway near Lake Hughes Road.
The accident occurred near Castaic at 1:40 p.m. where the freeway descends from a long grade at Lake Castaic north of Santa Clarita, California Highway Patrol Officer Margaret Sowers said. The wreckage blocked three southbound lanes of the freeway for several hours, she said.
The three trucks came to rest on their sides. The tanker was carrying more than 7,000 gallons of isobutane, a highly flammable fuel, but it did not leak, according to Los Angeles County Fire Department officials. They said cooling winds prevented an explosion.
CHP officers said the person who died was in the pickup truck, which was struck from behind by the tanker and driven forward into the back of the tractor-trailer. The accident’s cause is under investigation, Sower said. No other injuries were reported.
Southbound traffic was diverted onto surface roads to bypass the crash site.
About 250 feet of guardrail from the roadway’s center median was torn loose and personal items from the camper were strewn along the freeway for more than 100 feet, CHP officers said.
Authorities withheld the victim’s name until relatives could be notified.
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