Fog Puts 66 Vehicles in Pileups

An early-morning wall of fog near the top of Cajon Pass set off a series of chain-reaction crashes involving 66 vehicles Thursday, closing northbound Interstate 15 for more than five hours and leaving two dozen people injured.

The crashes, 15 in all, caused five cars to burst into flames, left big-rig trucks scattered in the middle of the freeway and backed up Las Vegas-bound traffic for miles.

The first accident occurred just after 6:30 a.m. south of Oak Hill Road, when a trailer being pulled by a vehicle was whipping across freeway lanes, initiating a nine-car crash, the California Highway Patrol’s preliminary investigation found. That accident had a trickle-down effect within seconds, creating wreckage along a one-mile stretch.

Down the freeway, a 16-vehicle crash involved four tractor trailers. One of the trucks, an empty double-tank trailer that typically carries gas or liquid, skidded to avoid a big rig only to be struck from behind by a large pickup carrying a trailer loaded with a National Hot Rod Assn. alcohol Funny Car. The pickup, driven by Funny Car racer Mert Littlefield, 59, of Garden Grove, locked its brakes and skidded underneath the second trailer.

“I knew we were going to hit -- we were traveling at the regular rate, about 60 to 65 mph, and the trucks in front of us were locking up their brakes and sliding,” said Brad Littlefield, Mert’s 20-year-old son, who was sitting in the front passenger seat. “I was just hoping when we did, the impact wouldn’t take my head off. Had we been rear-ended by the rig behind us, it would’ve been disastrous.”

The elder Littlefield was treated for cuts on his forehead.

“It was a fog deal -- it got real dense, real quick,” said Mert Littlefield, who canceled his trip to race at this weekend’s NHRA SummitRacing.com Nationals in Las Vegas.

Brad Littlefield said that as he hurried to help his father, who had been pinned in the driver’s seat, he heard behind him “lots of loud impact and lots of shattered glass. I’m surprised there were no fatalities, because it sounded like there was a lot of carnage.”

Farther south on Interstate 15, the fog caused an eight-car collision involving a pickup carrying a container of gasoline in its bed. The truck and four cars near it were destroyed by the fire sparked on impact.

“Our theory is that sparks shot off, igniting the gasoline and setting the truck and four cars within close proximity on fire,” CHP spokesman Ron Seldon said.

Of the 24 injured, most suffered neck and back pain and cuts that came as a result of their vehicles being rear-ended. Seven of those were taken to hospitals. There were no broken bones, Seldon said.

“We get a lot of messes up there, and this one, with its vehicle fires, threw another twist at us,” said Capt. John Lansing of the San Bernardino County Fire Department. “Everyone up there was very lucky.”

The freeway up and down Cajon Pass has long proved to be intimidating. In addition to its winding, steep contour, the freeway often is subject to rain, wind, snow or fog.

Drivers reported to the CHP on Thursday that the fog was so intense that they struggled to see lane lines in front of and beside them.

“The problem was that people just weren’t slowing down or compensating for these conditions,” Seldon said. “The Cajon Pass is famous for major weather changes, yet we’re in Southern California, where everyone’s in a hurry.”

Seldon said Thursday’s chain-reaction was a vivid example of what happens when those dangerous factors intersect.

The five-hour closure of the freeway forced drivers of recreational vehicles and tractor trailers to exit or park on the freeway shoulder, while other drivers read newspapers and books, sipped coffee, listened to news radio updates and stared ahead impatiently for a sign of clearing.

“Everyone who had been drinking their morning coffee started looking for a place to go [to the restroom] -- they just tiptoed down the mountains,” said Timi Fair, a Santa Monica College student who was en route to Flagstaff, Ariz. “It was frustrating, but it was also interesting to see how people bond. It became a big tailgate party -- people sharing Cokes and food. Up ahead, a woman opened up her catering truck.”

Down the hill in Devore, Robert and Linda Brown, a couple vacationing from Victoria, British Columbia, had been parked so long they opted to scrap their trip to Reno and instead begin their trek home.

“I guess this is better than being in the accident,” Linda Brown said. “We figured this was an April Fool’s joke -- a long one.”