Trucks, Car Pile Up in Freeway Tunnel

Six big-rig trucks and a car slammed into each other Friday evening in a chain-reaction pileup at the end of a rain-slicked tunnel on the Golden State Freeway near Newhall, authorities said. Two occupants in the car were injured, one seriously.

The pileup occurred at 7 p.m. when a truck nearing the tunnel’s exit skidded on the wet pavement and jackknifed, causing other trucks to crash as they came around a blind curve, said California Highway Patrol Officer Louie Pravettone. The car, a Volkswagen hatchback, struck the back of the last truck in the pileup about a minute after the initial crash, Pravettone said.

The driver of the car, described as in his 20s, was arrested on suspicion of drunk driving after officers found several open cans of beer in the car and smelled alcohol on his breath, Pravettone said. The driver suffered moderate injuries.

None of the truck drivers were injured in the crash, which occurred in the southbound truck lanes below the Antelope Valley Freeway overpass, authorities said.

Witnesses described the crash scene as chaotic.

“I was coming around the corner and I saw a bunch of metal flying and saw a little car crash into the back of a truck,” said Don Vogt, 43, who swerved his loaded tanker-trailer rig and avoided hitting the car. “It was just all crazy. Trucks and cars were going all over the place.”

Pravettone said the passenger in the car was taken to Holy Cross Medical Center in Mission Hills. The driver was being treated at Henry Mayo Newhall Memorial Hospital in Valencia. Their names were not immediately released.

The tunnel was expected to be closed for several hours until the wreckage could be cleared, Pravettone said. Southbound trucks were being diverted to car lanes.

WET WEEKEND AHEAD

A storm that flooded streets in the Bay Area headed into Southern California for the long holiday weekend. B3