Big-Rigs’ Accident Slows Rush Hour

Four big rigs and a pickup truck collided in a rush-hour accident Wednesday morning at the Riverside-Santa Ana freeway interchange, which has seen a sharp rise in accidents since construction work began three years ago.

No one was injured in Wednesday’s wreck, but westbound commuters on the Riverside Freeway were delayed as crews cleared the trucks from the roadway.

The crash was the latest of more than 30 accidents around the interchange since Caltrans began its $1-billion Santa Ana Freeway widening project in 1996. Four months ago, two people died in a fiery collision when a tanker truck loaded with fuel toppled onto a car.

In the weeks following the deadly accident, Caltrans increased the number of signs along the freeways warning drivers of the construction work and urging them to proceed with extra caution.

The cause of Wednesday’s crash is still under investigation by the California Highway Patrol. Officials said it was triggered when the 28-year-old driver of the first big-rig hit his brakes, which locked. That driver, Fidel Mendez of Sylmar, might have punched his brakes to avoid a car that zig-zagged into his lane, authorities said.

“One of the reasons for this accident was that the driver of the big-rig slammed on its brakes when a car cut in front of him,” said Rose Orem, a spokeswoman for the California Department of Transportation. “That’s a big concern. Sudden lane changes can cause accidents. People need to drive a little more cautiously because there is a lot of activity going on out there.”

While dramatic, the 8:35 a.m. accident turned out to be little more than a nuisance to Riverside Freeway drivers. The four big-rigs later drove away; the only vehicle hobbled was a Fullerton man’s Ford Ranger, which sustained a crumpled front end.

“It was just a sequence of chain-reaction events, and it was a pretty big mess,” California Highway Patrol Officer Denise Medina said. “But 20 minutes later, all lanes of traffic were opened.”

The massive Santa Ana Freeway road-widening project will continue until the end of next year. While drivers should soon notice some improvements, a lot more headaches are on the way:

* The southbound Santa Ana Freeway will curve to the right before the Broadway exit in Anaheim, to make way for the rebuilding of the Broadway bridge.

* Officials plan to close the Chapman Avenue under-crossing for about six weeks beginning Aug. 8 to make way for the realignment of the street. Signs already have been posted directing drivers to the new onramps.

* In early September, the westbound connector from the Riverside Freeway to the northbound Santa Ana Freeway will be rerouted to the right, meaning that drivers will exit to the right instead of the left.

“This will be a significant change,” Orem said. “Every week there will be more changes, and these changes mean progress. But drivers should be aware and allow for enough distance between vehicles so they can adjust for sudden changes in the road, or the slowing of traffic.”

The CHP has not issued any citations in connection with Wednesday’s crash. CHP investigators were still trying to determine who was at fault and whether the construction was a factor in the crash.

The first collision occurred when big-rig driver Jeffrey Kelly of Corona swerved to the left to avoid Mendez, whose brakes had locked up. Kelly’s mirror clipped the end of Mendez’s container.

A third big-rig, driven by David Martinez of Fontana, swerved to the right but hit Mendez’s truck. Then a fourth big-rig, driven by Oscar Tovez of Moreno Valley, crashed into one of the other trucks.

The driver of the Ford pickup, Michael Route of Fullerton, could not avoid the pileup, Medina said.

“We were really lucky that no one was hurt, and that we were able to reopen all lanes of traffic so quickly,” Medina said.

There have been at least 34 accidents in the area since construction began in 1996, at least 11 of them involving trucks. By contrast, 14 accidents took place in the three years before construction. None involved trucks.