Freeway crawl
Deepa Bharath
NEWPORT BEACH -- A rush-hour collision between a big rig and van on
the Corona del Mar Freeway on Thursday afternoon left three people
injured and closed down all southbound lanes, backing up traffic for
hours, officials said.
The vehicles, which were traveling on the southbound lanes near
MacArthur Boulevard about 4:45 p.m., crashed into each other, said
California Highway Patrol Officer Katrina Lundgren.
The collision was initially thought to have been fatal, but officers
said nobody died in the crash.
One person who was seriously injured in the crash was taken to Mission
Hospital in Mission Viejo, said Newport Beach Fire Capt. John Blauer.
“That person seemed to have suffered some trauma,” he said.
Two others, who were not as seriously injured, were taken to Hoag
Hospital and Irvine Medical Center, respectively.
The identities and condition of the injured were not released as of
Thursday night.
Rush-hour drivers suffered for hours, with all southbound lanes and
one northbound lane closed after the incident, which left both the van
and the big rig overturned, Lundgren said.
A SigAlert was issued about 4 p.m. and lasted more than four hours.
“It’s not just clearing out everything, but also repairing the road,”
Lundgren said.
The accident left a large, deep gash on the southbound lanes of the
freeway about 4 feet by 18 inches and about 8 inches deep, she said.
Lundgren said Caltrans workers had started the repair work about an
hour after the accident occurred.
* Deepa Bharath covers public safety and courts. She may be reached at
(949) 574-4226 or by e-mail at o7 deepa.bharath@latimes.comf7 .
All the latest on Orange County from Orange County.
Get our free TimesOC newsletter.
You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Daily Pilot.