IRVINE : Infant Hospitalized After Freeway Crash

An 8-week-old baby was hospitalized with a possible skull fracture Wednesday after a San Diego Freeway collision that jackknifed a trailer, tangling rush-hour traffic for miles.

Joshua Leith of Irvine was taken to Western Medical Center in Santa Ana and placed in pediatric intensive care, hospital spokeswoman Janetta Inlow said. The infant’s mother, Laura Leith, 33, was also admitted to the hospital, complaining of chest and arm pain, said California Highway Patrol spokeswoman Angel Johnson. Both were listed in stable condition.

CHP Officer William L. Grant said the baby’s car seat--with the infant still strapped into it--had come loose from the front passenger seat of Leith’s 1986 Honda Accord.

“The car seat was not strapped into the car properly,” Grant said.

The 1:40 p.m. collision on the northbound San Diego Freeway just south of Culver Drive ripped a huge piece out of the center divider and stalled traffic for several miles in either direction. By 5:30 p.m., it had been completely cleared.

Leith was traveling 55 m.p.h. in the slow lane when traffic suddenly stopped in front of her, Johnson said. She lost control of her car, swerving into the right shoulder and then to the left, where she struck a flatbed truck towing a 2,000-pound forklift on a trailer, Johnson said.

The truck jackknifed and skidded to the left, hitting a Mitsubishi Mirage and slamming through the center divider, Johnson said. The truck driver, Patrick Dunning, 30, of Newport Beach, and the Mitsubishi driver, Trumpti Gorajia, 25, of Buena Park, were uninjured, Johnson said.

Chunks of concrete from the divider tumbled into most of the southbound lanes, forcing their closure, and the car-pool and fast lanes on the northbound side were also closed for several hours to allow removal of the truck, Grant said. About 30 gallons of diesel fuel also spilled.