4 Lanes Shut : Crashes Turn Freeway Into Parking Lot

Four crashes involving 24 vehicles, including a tractor-trailer, closed the westbound Ventura Freeway in Calabasas and brought traffic to a standstill for about five miles during rush hour Friday, the California Highway Patrol said.

The trouble started when the tractor-trailer jack-knifed about 2:15 p.m. near Las Virgenes Road, spilling 85 gallons of diesel from its ruptured fuel tanks, CHP Officer Bob Weaver said.

Other cars plowed into the wreckage. Details of the individual crashes were unavailable, but Weaver said there were no reports of major injuries, probably because motorists were driving slowly in the rain.

Weaver would not speculate on whether Friday afternoon’s drizzle contributed to the calamity.

The CHP closed all four lanes of the freeway and, at one point, traffic was at a standstill from Las Virgenes Road to past Valley Circle Boulevard, about five miles away, authorities said. Motorists said the crashes slowed traffic back to the interchange of the San Diego-Ventura freeways.

Only two lanes of traffic had been opened by late Friday night.

Surface Streets Busy

Scores of drivers poured onto surface streets in search of alternate routes, many driving north to the Simi Valley Freeway to find a way into Ventura County.

“It’s a mess,” Weaver said.

Clearing the debris and fuel was difficult, Weaver said. Cleanup crews put sand on the pavement to soak up the fuel. CHP patrol cars were escorting motorists over the slippery section of the road.

At Valley Circle Boulevard about 4 p.m., motorists got out of their cars and stared glumly ahead. Others spoke on car phones.

One driver, Derick Sharp of Ventura, was stopped 50 yards in front of the crash. At 4:20 p.m., Sharp said he had been at a standstill for “at least an hour.”

Other drivers jammed Tampa Avenue, De Soto Avenue, Ventura Boulevard and Burbank Boulevard to avoid the freeway. “This was just wall-to-wall cars,” said Adam Belgrade, an attendant at a service station at De Soto and Ventura.

Among the frustrated and tired motorists was Jody Daily of Thousand Oaks. She had left Los Angeles International Airport at 4 p.m. About 2 1/2 hours later, she was asking for directions at Belgrade’s station in Woodland Hills.

“Go to the 118, and you’re on your way,” attendant Tony Jimenez told her.

The traffic made an impression on Daily’s out-of-town passenger. “We’re not used to this,” Debbie Gibson said. “We’re from Santa Barbara.”

Elsewhere in the San Fernando Valley, a CHP officer was injured when his patrol car was hit by a tractor-trailer truck. The officer was radioing for a tow truck to remove an abandoned vehicle along the Golden State Freeway in Granada Hills when his car was hit, authorities said.

Rescuers had to remove the door of the patrol car to get the officer out, authorities said. His condition was not immediately available. The accident occurred about 3 p.m.