3 dead in horror 8-vehicle pile-up on California freeway as crash site bursts into flames
The crash took place at around 1:10 p.m. PT when a semi-truck failed to come to stop as traffic was slowing down on the west bound stretch of Interstate-10 in Ontario, California
At least three people were killed and four others injured after a fiery eight-vehicle collision on the 10 Freeway in Southern California on Tuesday that involved four semi-trucks, resulting in multiple lane closures and snarling traffic for miles.
The crash took place at around 1:10 p.m. PT when a semi-truck failed to come to stop as traffic was slowing down on the west bound stretch of Interstate-10 in Ontario, California near the I-15 interchange, according to the California Highway Patrol.
The resulting collision resulted in an eight-car pileup, involving four semi-trucks and four passenger cars, one of which was engulfed in flames, according to the CHP. Medical personnel responded and pronounced three people dead at the scene and four other were transported to the hospital for treatment. The conditions of the injured people are not known at this time.
All westbound lanes of the interstate were closed for extended periods of time, with the exception of the two FasTrak lanes, as are the transition roads from the I-15 to the I-10 westbound, CHP said. As of late Tuesday afternoon the lanes remanded closed and there is currently no estimate as to when they will reopen.
Jason Calmelat witnessed the crash take place and told KTLA that his first reaction was “somebody just died.”
“The red truck was traveling at a high rate of speed when everyone else was stopped,” Calmelat told the station. “He didn’t hit his brakes, he didn’t try to slow down, he just went full force into the back of another truck, crushing two other cars.”
One of the passenger vehicles “exploded on impact,” sending a “massive fireball” into the air, he added.
Footage from KTLA showed the massive pileup showed the four tractor trailers and the four other vehicles involved in the pileup, including one vehicle that was too badly charred and mangled to determine the make or model.