2 Injured as Forklift Topples Off Overpass

Two motorists suffered only slight injuries Thursday when a five-ton forklift and dozens of 50-pound bags of cement fell from an overpass onto the crowded Hollywood Freeway in North Hollywood, the California Highway Patrol said. The 7 a.m. accident created a major traffic headache for hours during the early-morning commute.

CHP Officer Doug Reynolds said a semi-tractor hauling the forklift and about 250 bags of cement was on the transition road from the southbound Hollywood Freeway to the eastbound Ventura Freeway when the hitch broke and the trailer began weaving.

The driver, Roberto Chavez, 28, of Sunland, was unable to control the truck and it hit a guardrail and dumped the forklift and dozens of bags of cement over the side of the elevated road onto the southbound Hollywood Freeway, the CHP said.