False Threat of Pipe Bomb Stops Traffic Four Hours
The Costa Mesa Freeway at the Riverside Freeway transition shut down for about four hours Thursday after a California Highway Patrol officer found what he believed to be a pipe bomb.
The sheriff’s bomb squad detonated the device, which authorities later determined was not a bomb, Sheriff’s Lt. Lynn Nehring said.
“There was nothing inside,” Nehring said.
No serious injuries were reported and authorities did not arrest anyone in connection with the incident.
About 2:45 p.m., a CHP officer found a 6-inch pipe with caps on both ends lying near the scene of an accident involving a truck and trailer carrying a new boat, CHP spokesman Bruce Mauldin said. The truck was heading to the westbound Riverside Freeway when it lost control and overturned, causing the boat to dislodge, authorities said.
Officers shut down the freeway transition until 7:15 p.m., causing traffic to bottleneck for several miles during the afternoon commute.
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