5-Vehicle Accident Sends 2 to Hospital, Ties Up Interstate 5

Two seriously injured men had to be cut from the tangled remains of a flatbed truck after a spectacular accident that involved five vehicles and tied up traffic on Interstate 5 for about 3 hours early Saturday.

Authorities said two were among eight people involved in the accident, which began when the truck was rear-ended, forcing it from southbound lanes into the center divider.

Enrique Pedraza, 19, of Santa Ana, the driver of the truck, and passenger Brian Mulligan, 25, of Huntington Beach were both listed in serious but stable condition at Mission Community Hospital in Mission Viejo.

Near Crown Valley Parkway

The accident occurred at 8:50 a.m. on southbound Interstate 5 near Crown Valley Parkway, according to Joe David, a spokesman for the California Highway Patrol. He provided this account:

A 1987 Ford flatbed truck driven by Pedraza was hit from behind by a late-model Chevrolet Citation. The collision propelled the two vehicles into a third car, causing the Chevrolet to run off the freeway’s shoulder. The truck and the third vehicle then careened into the freeway’s center divider, ripping out about 100 feet of fencing.

After stopping, the two vehicles were hit by a fourth, a late-model pickup. The pickup glanced off the two vehicles into the northbound lanes of the freeway, where it hit a fifth vehicle, a compact pickup.

Other drivers and passengers were treated at the scene for minor injuries, David said.