By Karen Kucher
The San Diego Union-Tribune
SAN DIEGO COUNTY, Calif. — Three motorcyclists were killed and five people were injured in a chain-reaction crash on south Interstate 5 near Camp Pendleton early Thursday that prompted an hours-long freeway closure, snarling traffic on several Southern California freeways, officials said.
Following the horrific crash, which occurred shortly after 3 a.m., California Highway Patrol officers shut down all lanes of southbound I-5 at Las Pulgas Road. Many drivers were stuck on the freeway for hours as officers slowly diverted vehicles off the freeway at Las Pulgas and sent them back north.
It wasn’t until 10 a.m. that two of the four southbound lanes were reopened, with the closure fully lifted around 3:30 p.m.
The crash occurred when a driver in a Jeep Wrangler heading south on I-5 veered off the freeway for an unknown reason and slammed into the guardrail just south of Las Pulgas, said CHP Officer Hunter Gerber. The disabled vehicle then came back into the southbound lanes where it was struck by a Mercedes-Benz Sprinter van that then overturned, Gerber said.
Gerber said four motorcyclists riding together as a group, possibly riding two abreast, came upon the crash site and ran into one or both of the vehicles. Two motorcycles caught fire after impact, he said.
The crash created a large debris field that included spilled oil and pieces of the motorcycles. The Jeep was blocking two inside lanes as was the overturned Mercedes.
The three men confirmed dead in the crash were all on motorcycles. The fourth rider suffered serious injuries and was transported by ambulance to a hospital.
Two men in the Jeep — the 29-year-old driver and a 50-year-old passenger — suffered life-threatening injuries and were taken by helicopter to a hospital. Two people in the Mercedes also were hospitalized, Gerber said.
There are no overhead cameras along the I-5 in that section. Gerber said anyone who may have captured dash camera footage of the crash is asked to contact the CHP.
The shutdown caused a massive traffic jam for drivers heading down from Orange County and also caused a backup in northbound lanes of I-5, Gerber said. The extended closure also caused backups on the Ortega Highway, which links Orange County to Riverside County. Traffic on south Interstate 15 also was clogged from Temecula into the Rainbow area as drivers looked for alternative routes.
“The No. 1 way to get into San Diego is the 5 freeway,” Gerber said, noting that the backup at one point was 14 miles long. “It caused a very big mess.”
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