2 killed, 2 injured in multi-vehicle crash on 405 Freeway in Costa Mesa

Two people were killed and two others injured in a multi-vehicle crash Friday night on the northbound 405 Freeway in Costa Mesa, authorities said.

Few details were immediately provided about the collision, which occurred shortly after 8:30 p.m. near Harbor Boulevard when a Volkswagen struck the center divider and wound up facing sideways in the car-pool lane, according to the California Highway Patrol. About four cars were involved.

The two people who died — identified only as man and a woman in their late 20s to early 30s — were in the same vehicle, said Capt. Chris Coates of the Costa Mesa Fire & Rescue Department.

A man and a woman in a different car suffered minor to moderate injuries and were taken to a hospital, according to Coates. Their injuries were not life-threatening.

The cause of the crash was not yet known.

The CHP issued a SigAlert, and all northbound lanes except one were closed. Traffic backed up for miles on the northbound side of the freeway as vehicles slowly made their way past the crash site.

All lanes were reopened around 11:30 p.m., according to the CHP.

Los Angeles Times staff writer Kim Christensen contributed to this report.

UPDATES:

10:15 a.m. Jan. 6: This article was updated with additional details.

4:55 a.m. Jan. 6: This article was updated with the time of the lanes reopening.

This article was originally published at 10:30 p.m. Jan. 5.