Dead motorcyclists may have been part of ‘Love Ride’
A series of at least two accidents involving motorcycles, cars and a big rig killed two people and injured at least two others Sunday, causing a massive traffic pileup and closing three lanes of the Golden State Freeway for hours, according to the California Highway Patrol.
CHP Deputy Ed Jacobs said the first crash was reported at 10:24 a.m. and involved two motorcycles and multiple cars on the northbound 5 Freeway near the Hollywood Freeway in the eastern San Fernando Valley. At least two motorcyclists were injured in that accident and the resulting backup brought traffic to a standstill.
“There were people walking in traffic lanes,” Jacobs said.
That traffic tie-up may have caused a fatal collision between a motorcycle and a big rig in the same area at 11:12, Jacobs said. In that incident, the driver of the motorcycle and his female passenger died at the scene, despite efforts by motorists to resuscitate them.
The motorcyclists may have been participating in the popular “Love Ride” fundraiser for autism research, which draws as many as 18,000 bikers to Castaic Lake.
-- Julie Cart, Los Angeles Times