Deadly Tunnel of Fire: Big Rigs Pile Up
Roadways may not be safe after trucks burn in freeway tunnel for hours.
LOS ANGELES, Oct. 13, 2007 — -- A multi-truck crash late Friday shot flames through a California freeway tunnel, killing three people and sending at least 10 people to the hospital, officials said.
"There could be, unfortunately more people that were not able to escape," said Deputy Fire Chief John Tripp.
Fire officials said at mid-day local time that the inside of the tunnel was still burning and it was too dangerous to enter. Firefighters were using cooling foam to get the fire under control so they could proceed with their investigation.
"We can go in bit by bit, piece by piece ... [and] pull out a little debris," said Fire Inspector Jason Hurd, "and they [firefighters] can go further."
Engineers are trying to inspect the edges of the tunnel. Authorities said it was too soon to know if the structures are in danger of collapsing.
Twenty people fled the blazing tunnel and the 10 injured were carried out and taken to local hospitals. Their injuries range from moderate burns to neck and back injuries. Two people had been treated and released.
Late Friday night, two trucks collided and started a chain-reaction wreck on the freeway, known as the Golden State (5) Freeway in northern Los Angeles County. When it was all over, 15 trucks had piled up on rain-slicked roads, including five flaming big rigs.
Flames shot up as high as 80 feet and wreckage scattered for a half a mile. Chunks of concrete overheated and exploded.
Helicopter pictures Saturday revealed a scene of twisted metal and scorched freeway. Small explosions rocked the tunnel into the day.
Hurd said flames also burned a section of the 5 freeway that runs above the tunnel. That section of the freeway remains closed. The freeway tunnel is mainly used by trucks, but other drivers are allowed to use it.
Traffic Nightmare in The Making
Drivers woke up Saturday morning to a weekend traffic snarl.
"Right now, what we have is a really big mess," says California Highway Patrol Officer Ricardo Quintero.
The 5 freeway is a major vein in the California freeway system, connecting drivers from Los Angeles to the suburbs and San Francisco. With a section of it being shut down, the California Highway Patrol said Monday morning traffic will not be smooth sailing.
This section of the 5 Freeway is no stranger to disaster. In the 1994 Northridge earthquake, the I-5 and route 14 connecter collapsed.