Two Multi-Car Accidents Leave One Dead, Rush-Hour Traffic Frozen

Rush-hour traffic on the San Diego Freeway and Interstate 5 ground to a standstill Tuesday following a pair of early-morning accidents, including a nine-car pileup in Irvine in which a motorist was killed.

All northbound lanes of Interstate 5 were closed for more than six hours because of the nine-car wreck at Bake Parkway, backing up traffic for miles.

The second accident, at Euclid Street in Fountain Valley, forced authorities to block off most of the southbound lanes of the San Diego Freeway for nearly two hours.

The first accident occurred about 2:10 a.m. when a pickup hit a slow-moving street sweeper in Irvine near the El Toro Y, according to the California Highway Patrol. Mark Steven Hunsicker, 46, of Nuevo, in Riverside County, was killed when he stepped out of his truck to inspect the damage and was struck by a car, investigators said.

He died at the scene. Six other vehicles slammed into the wreckage and at least six people were taken to hospitals with minor and moderate injuries, CHP Officer Chris Johnson said.

“There were cars on their sides and twisted up,” he said. “As one officer put it, ‘It was like a bomb exploded out there.’ ”

Northbound lanes of Interstate 5 were closed until 8:20 a.m., causing rush-hour congestion as far south as Alicia Parkway, Johnson said, and adding about an hour to morning commutes. Traffic was diverted onto a truck bypass at Lake Forest Drive.

The CHP is investigating the crash. Johnson said oncoming motorists apparently weren’t able to see the truck and street sweeper in the dark.

“Occasionally we get the four-to five-car pile ups -- nine is a little unusual,” he said.

The second crash occurred at 5:40 a.m. and involved five vehicles on the southbound San Diego Freeway just south of Euclid Street. The center lanes were closed until about 7:30 a.m. The incident began when a car entering the freeway swerved across several lanes before hitting another car.

One motorist suffered a broken leg and had to be removed from his car.