Freeway Crime Scene Strands Commuters

Stuck in a massive traffic jam Wednesday morning that turned her five-minute commute into a 60-minute ordeal, Robin Hall of Capistrano Beach realized there was no good way around the problem. Tens of thousands of people found themselves trapped for hours in the aftermath of the shooting of a California Highway Patrol officer.

Some, like Hall, worried as they watched Interstate 5, one of only two main arteries through the area, quickly turn into a parking lot.

“If there was ever a [major disaster], would we be able to get out?” asked Hall, an artist who works in San Clemente.

Emergency planners and Caltrans officials in the county said the shooting Wednesday that turned a key stretch of highway into a crime scene was highly unusual, although they said Interstate 5 plays a vital role in feeding traffic in and out of South County.

“In an emergency, the first priority would be to get that road open no matter what,” said Loletta Barrett, Orange County’s emergency manager. “We’d bulldoze cars out of the way or rebuild the road if we had to. Wednesday we had a crime scene and that changes everything.”

The shooting--which shut down all southbound lanes of traffic for two hours during the morning rush--gave a taste of what South County commuting would be like without the interstate .

“There’s really nowhere else to go,” said Officer Michelle DiMaggio, who works in the CHP’s Irvine traffic management center. “You’re just kind of stuck once you’re past the El Toro Y.”

The near-gridlocked congestion lasted well into the afternoon, as people going both directions found themselves unable to get to work, home or play. Even after the freeway was fully opened shortly after 12:30 p.m., a traffic advisory lasted an hour more.

Traffic was also crippled throughout the San Clemente area, with congestion spreading to neighborhood streets and overloading Pacific Coast Highway. Caltrans spokeswoman Deborah Harris said new road construction and alternative routes are constantly reviewed by state transportation officials. For example, the proposed Foothill South toll road--whose more than $640-million cost would be privately financed--would provide an alternative route through South County. The construction of the road is vehemently opposed by environmentalists who argue it would destroy some of the last remaining open space in the county and endanger a number of species.

By all accounts the drive Wednesday was memorably bad.

Irene Carabajal of Laguna Niguel gave up in tears of frustration.

“People on cell phones were just tearing their hair out to try to make U-turns to get out of there,” Carabajal said. “People were nearly hitting each other with their cars. It was just a nightmare. . . . I saw people taking streets that I knew were dead ends.”

Carabajal turned her car around and headed home.

Rosemary Manzanar of Los Angeles had planned to be early for an 11:15 a.m. job interview in San Diego. Instead the program analyst found herself frantic despite leaving her home at 7:30 with what she believed was plenty of time to spare. At the time her interview was supposed to start she was calling in from a pay phone in San Clemente--having traveled half the distance in twice the usual time.

Nearly 13,000 vehicles an hour pass by the spot on the shoulder of the highway near Avenida Pico where the shooting took place.

CHP officers said most motorists who called to complain about the traffic were understanding when they heard news of the shooting. Officer Joan Rivas, a CHP spokeswoman, said some callers just wanted to check on the wounded officer’s condition.

“That makes us feel good,” she said.

Times staff writers H.G. Reza and Scott Martelle contributed to this report.