Southbound 5 Freeway open in Gorman after 6-vehicle crash kills 2

All southbound lanes of Interstate 5 were reopened in Gorman after a six-vehicle crash early Tuesday killed two people, including an 11-year-old girl, and injured six others.

Traffic was snarled for miles after the crash, which was reported just after 5 a.m. north of California 138, California Highway Patrol said. Officer Adriaan Garcia said investigators were still trying to piece together what caused the crash but said the vehicles included a semi-truck and an SUV that rolled and threw two people from it.

A 42-year-old woman and an 11-year-old girl were pronounced dead at the scene, Garcia said. Their names were not immediately available.

Six others — including three children — were taken to area hospitals via helicopter and ambulance. At least one child and one adult had injuries Garcia described as “major.”

“It’s going to take us a while to figure out what happened,” Garcia said.

The crash initially closed all southbound lanes of the freeway, and traffic was so backed up that coroner’s officials had difficulty reaching the scene, according to CHP reports. Vehicles were eventually allowed to file past on the far right shoulder.

The freeway fully reopened just before 11:30 a.m.