1 killed in multi-vehicle crash involving overturned dump truck on 605 Freeway in Whittier

WHITTIER, Calif. (KABC) -- One person was killed Thursday in a multi-vehicle crash involving an overturned dump truck on the 605 Freeway in Whittier, authorities said.

The dump truck spilled its payload of gravel across all lanes on the interstate, prompting the closure of the northbound side.

The crash, which involved at least three vehicles, was reported at 5:42 a.m. near the Washington Boulevard exit, according to a California Highway Patrol incident log.

One person was pronounced dead at the scene. That individual was not immediately identified, and it was unclear if anyone else was seriously injured.

CHP officers briefly opened one lane to allow bottlenecked traffic to pass through, but the entire northbound side was again closed shortly before 7 a.m. Almost two hours later, the Highway Patrol announced that two northbound lanes were reopened while two southbound lanes were closed.

Traffic was backed up for miles as the morning commute got underway.

Southbound lanes remained open but drivers were moving slowly on that side, which was also littered with gravel. Shortly after 11 a.m. the CHP announced the cancellation of the SigAlert and said all lanes were reopened.

The cause of the collision was under investigation.