Driver Fatigue Blamed in Fatal Freeway Crash

California Highway Patrol investigators have concluded that driver fatigue and an overloaded vehicle led to a freak freeway crash in March in which one person was killed and seven others injured.

The conclusions, based on a six-month probe of the dramatic traffic pileup, are contained in a confidential 300-page report obtained by The Times. The CHP’s Multidisciplinary Accident Investigation Team conducted the investigation.

In the accident on the Hollywood Freeway, the driver of a city-owned cherry-picker truck apparently fell asleep at the wheel, suddenly awoke and sharply turned the steering wheel to the left.

That abrupt turn caused the driver, Louis C. Gysin, 52, to lose control of the four-ton truck, which was carrying 13,520 pounds of steel I-beams, investigators said. The rear axles were overweight by 5,300 pounds.

“The turning movement, combined with the overweight condition of the rear tandem axles, caused [the truck] to go out of control,” investigators wrote in their report.

A post-crash inspection of the truck showed no mechanical problems that could have caused this unsafe turn, investigators said.

Gysin adamantly denies falling asleep at the wheel, investigators said.

“He described in his interview how the roof of a vehicle suddenly appeared directly in front of him causing him to swerve to avoid it,” the report said. “[He] stated that he was not fatigued at the time of the collision and did not fall asleep at the wheel.”

Gysin could not be reached for comment Saturday. Officials have said that Gysin does not remember the crash.

The Los Angeles County district attorney’s office has charged Gysin with one count of misdemeanor vehicular manslaughter. His arraignment is set for Oct. 18. If convicted, he could be sentenced to one year in jail.

On Friday, the Los Angeles City Council voted in closed session to pay for Gysin’s criminal defense, Councilman Joel Wachs said Saturday.

The council agreed to pay the street maintenance worker’s legal bills because he was on duty at the time of the accident and there was no indication that he was under the influence of drugs or alcohol.

“He was acting within the scope of his duties and there was no malicious intent involved,” Wachs said. “It was just a terrible, horrible tragedy.”

Nineteen claims have been filed against the city on behalf of crash victims and their families, including that of Roger W. Randall, the county telecommunications repairman who was killed in the accident.

Another victim, Beverly Burton of North Hills, was southbound on the freeway near Cahuenga Boulevard when her Isuzu Rodeo sport utility vehicle became sandwiched between the out-of-control cherry-picker and a Nissan 280ZX sports car, said Terry Goldberg, Burton’s lawyer.

Burton suffered back and neck injuries, Goldberg said.

The traffic pileup was one of the most dramatic in recent memory, officials said. The 2:30 p.m. crash closed the freeway for nearly 12 hours and crippled traffic during rush hour.

Gysin was driving the truck downtown to the shop after a day of storm-related repairs in the San Fernando Valley, when he lost control and plowed through the center divider.

The truck became airborne and passed over a car before landing on its side and slamming into the county-owned GMC Safari van driven by Randall.

The truck, still on its side, continued to slide into oncoming traffic, finally coming to rest on top of a Chevrolet Cavalier.

Thirteen investigators interviewed 32 witnesses, including the 11 drivers involved in the accident. They also examined tire marks, vehicle damage, road conditions and the autopsy report.