O.C. Crash Puts Focus on Safety of Roadwork

Freeway repairs after a fiery tanker truck crash on one of Orange County’s busiest interchanges caused widespread traffic congestion Saturday and raised concerns about driver safety in highway construction zones.

The Friday-night accident, which left portions of the Santa Ana Freeway closed for much of Saturday, occurred when a trailer carrying 8,000 gallons of diesel and gasoline toppled as it was entering the freeway.

The trailer hit a Ford Crown Victoria sedan heading north. The impact caused a horrific explosion seen from miles away that killed the car’s driver, who was running an errand for a friend. He leaves behind a wife and 3-year-old daughter.

The truck driver, who, according to witnesses, was engulfed in flames when he escaped his cab, was taken to a hospital with burns over 98% of his body. He died Saturday afternoon.

A preliminary investigation by the California Highway Patrol indicated that the 44-year-old truck driver was speeding when he transitioned from the westbound Riverside Freeway to the northbound Santa Ana Freeway, said investigator Garry Goldenberg.

The intense fire melted the huge tanker into a pile of charred black debris and cracked the pavement, forcing Caltrans to resurface the road.

The interchange is undergoing a major reconstruction as part of a billion-dollar freeway widening project, leaving drivers to contend with sharp curves, narrow lanes and confusing signs.

Caltrans officials said complaints from confused motorists prompted them recently to install more signs aimed at making the interchange easier to navigate.

“It’s difficult to determine which lane you need to be in,” said Caltrans spokeswoman Rose Orem, explaining why the signs were installed. “You have last-minute lane changes that could put motorists in harm’s way.”

But some people say the junction is still confounding and hazardous.

“It is scary over there,” said Phillip Tez, 27, a mechanic from Buena Park who regularly uses the interchange.

Juan Morelos, who lives just off the Riverside Freeway, said he heard the tanker explode Friday night and wasn’t surprised by the accident.

“That little [onramp] lane is not big enough for the big rigs,” he said.

Authorities did not release the dead motorist’s name, but friends and family identified him as Sarkis Kostanian, 35.

He was on his way home to Glendale after driving to Anaheim to check on a leak at a restaurant owned by his wife’s employer, said a friend, who asked not to be identified.

“He was big-hearted, and he loved to do for people,” she said.

At the victim’s home Saturday evening, family members gathered in mourning. But they declined to comment on the accident, saying they were too distraught.

“It is just very hard for them,” said the friend.

At the accident site, workers raced to repave the freeway, and thousands of frustrated motorists clogged surface streets to get around the closure.

Richard Ortega ran into the bottleneck while trying to get his son, Joshua, to Los Alamitos High School for a play rehearsal. He said it took him 30 minutes to get to the Riverside Freeway from his home, rather than the usual five minutes.

Cyril Wallace, a cashier at a Mobil station near the interchange, said he was overwhelmed by the constant string of motorists asking for directions.

“We definitely have an increase in people we are lost and who don’t know their way around here off the freeways,” he said.

The accident occurred in the heart of the major freeway expansion project that has closed overpasses and entrances and caused many detours. In August, 21 people were injured when a big rig smashed into six vehicles that were stopped for construction work a few miles south of the interchange.

Caltrans officials said motorists must take extra caution when driving in construction zones but said the Santa Ana Freeway is safe.

“We have plenty of caution signs and reduced-speed signs posted throughout all of our construction zones,” Orem said. “It’s the human factor we have no control over.”

Orem said drivers need to be especially aware now, with projects underway on many freeways. In addition to widening the Riverside and Santa Ana freeways, major projects are scheduled to begin soon on the Costa Mesa and San Diego freeways.

“All of Orange County is virtually under construction--both city streets and freeways,” Orem said.

The CHP closed a two-mile stretch of the northbound Santa Ana Freeway and its connector from the westbound Riverside Freeway after the 9 p.m. Friday accident. The roads were reopened at 2:15 p.m. Saturday.

(BEGIN TEXT OF INFOBOX / INFOGRAPHIC)

How Crash Happened

A tanker truck apparently rolled over and exploded Friday evening. Here is how officials think the traffic-snarling accident happened:

1. Tanker truck carrying 5,000 gallons of diesel fuel and 3,000 gallons of gasoline travels connector road from the westbound Riverside Freeway to the northbound Santa Ana Freeway.

2. Tanker truck, allegedly speeding, merges on northbound Santa Ana Freeway

3. Tanker truck either rolls over on Ford Crown Victoria traveling northbound on Santa Ana Freeway or flips on its side and skids into Ford.

4. Tanker truck explodes and pins Ford sedan against concrete barrier. Fire scorches underside of Orangethorpe Ave. overcrossing. Burning fuel runs south along Santa Ana Freeway.

Sources: CalTrans, CHP and Times reports