Man Critically Hurt in Accident

A multi-vehicle crash on the Antelope Valley Freeway on Tuesday morning sent two people to hospitals and closed all three southbound lanes just south of Escondido Canyon Road for two hours as rescue workers freed an accident victim and cleared the wreckage.

A pickup truck driven by Allan Berr of Lancaster, 46, rear-ended a flatbed truck carrying steel rods around 6:30 a.m., said Officer Doug Sweeney of the California Highway Patrol’s Newhall station.

Berr then struck two more cars before hitting the center divider and coming to a stop, Sweeney said. Berr was airlifted to Antelope Valley Hospital after rescue personnel worked for more than half an hour with special equipment to free him from his pickup. Hospital officials said he was in critical condition Tuesday night.

The driver of the second vehicle struck, Susan Brown, 47, also of Lancaster, was treated at Henry Mayo Newhall Memorial Hospital in Valencia, a hospital spokesman said.