2 truck crashes shut down SB 5 Fwy truck lanes in Newhall Pass

John Gregory Image
Thursday, January 19, 2017
2 crashes shut down SB 5 Fwy truck lanes in Newhall Pass
An overturned semi-truck carrying produce and a car carrier crashed, causing a shutdown of the southbound truck lanes on the 5 Freeway in the Newhall Pass Thursday.

SYLMAR, LOS ANGELES (KABC) -- An overturned semi-truck carrying produce and a car carrier crashed, causing a shutdown of the southbound truck lanes on the 5 Freeway in the Newhall Pass Thursday.

The crashes happened around 3 a.m. in the lanes with a semi-truck carrying about 40,000 pounds of produce and a car carrier handling three vehicles. The separate accidents happened right near the 14 Freeway transition.

The accidents also caused the closure of the southbound 14 Freeway truck lanes to the southbound 5 Freeway. Authorities said the car hauler crashed first, then the semi-truck clipped the wheel of the hauler.

The semi-truck, which was carrying apples, ended up on its side. No one was injured in either crash, authorities said.

Authorities said the lanes were closed until noon because they have to remove the produce before they can move the semi-truck.

The crashes may have been caused by the heavy rainfall that started overnight, snarling commutes early in the morning.

The rains also flooded Polliwog Park in Manhattan Beach, submerging most of the benches and playground pieces.