Flipped Soda Truck Bottles Up Artesia Freeway

A big rig overturned Monday morning on the westbound Artesia Freeway in Anaheim, snarling traffic for more than five hours.

The truck, loaded with soft drinks, flipped over shortly before 5 a.m. near State College Boulevard, California Highway Patrol officers said.

The accident temporarily shut down all lanes of traffic as well as the connector ramps to the Orange Freeway. As many as 15,000 cars an hour travel that stretch of road, according to Caltrans figures.

The incident was the first of three SigAlerts called Monday morning. No one was seriously injured in any of the crashes, CHP Officer Mark Reeves said.

A second accident, just after 9 a.m. on the northbound San Diego Freeway at Edwards Street in Westminster, slowed traffic for about 30 minutes.

A third SigAlert was issued about 9:30 a.m. on the westbound Garden Grove Freeway in Garden Grove. It was caused by an accident that involved six cars and took more than an hour to clear, officers said.