Accident Closes Orange Freeway for 6 Hours
An accident involving four cars shut down the northbound Orange Freeway for nearly six hours Tuesday, causing a backup to Yorba Linda Boulevard in Fullerton and tying up traffic into rush hour.
A 17-year-old girl was critically injured in the wreck when her 1991 Ford Mustang ran into a California Highway Patrol cruiser stopped for a stalled vehicle in Diamond Bar.
The girl, whose name was not released, suffered major injuries, said CHP spokeswoman Sylvia Santana. The girl was airlifted to San Dimas Community Hospital.
The incident began at about noon when a trash truck broke down in the lane next to the slow lane near Pathfinder Road, and a CHP officer parked behind the truck. The officer set out cones to divert traffic around the two vehicles, Santana said.
A few minutes later, the girl drove through the cones and crashed into the cruiser, then careened into two other vehicles, Santana said. The CHP shut the freeway, detouring cars onto surface streets at Pathfinder Road. It was reopened at 5:30 p.m.
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