New York, New York | Change My City

Sun.

66/50

Mon.

67/54

Tue.

65/54

Complete
Forecast

RSS Feeds

«
Go back to news.search.yahoo.com

News By Location

Select a State Alabama
Alaska Arizona
Arkansas California Colorado
Connecticut Delaware D.C. Florida Georgia Hawaii Idaho Illinois Indiana
Iowa Kansas Kentucky Louisiana
Maine Maryland
Massachusetts Michigan Minnesota
Mississippi Missouri Montana
Nebraska Nevada
New Hampshire New Jersey New
Mexico New York North Carolina North
Dakota Ohio Oklahoma Oregon Pennsylvania Rhode
Island South Carolina South Dakota Tennessee Texas Utah Vermont Virginia Washington
West Virginia Wisconsin Wyoming

Home

|

My News

|

News

|

Politics

|

Entertainment

|

Sports

|

Business

|

Blogs

|

Classifieds

|

Autos

|

Jobs

|

Real
Estate

Today In Pictures

|

Today in History

|

News By State

|

News By Topic

|

Search

New York

|

New York

|

US

|

World

White House

|

N. Korea

|

Iraq

|

Iran

|

Bill Sammon

|

Yeas & Nays

|

Race
for 2008

Movies

|

Movie
Reviews

|

TV

|

Music

|

Strange

NASCAR

|

Basketball

|

College

|

Football

|

Soccer

|

Hockey

|

Baseball

|

Golf

Technology

|

Science

|

Health

|

Stock Market

|

Stock
Quotes

|

News Releases

Tapscott's Copy
Desk

|

Beeler's Cartoons

|

Yeas & Nays

|

Today in History

|

Scoop!

|

Celebrity Photos

|

Search
Blogs

Local

Trucks burn inside tunnel and three die after
pileup on I-5

9 hrs ago

» Trucks burn inside tunnel and three die after pileup on
I-5 «

Printer
Friendly | PDF | Email

Oct 14, 2007 1:04 AM (9 hrs ago)
By
NOAKI SCHWARTZ, AP

Font Size: a
a
A
A

Current rank: # 251 of 3,680

Add
to My News
Post
your comments

SANTA CLARITA, Calif. (Map,
News)
- Amid the piles of twisted, blackened rubble sat one recognizable
vehicle, a pale blue truck cab, it's right turn signal still blinking.

It was an eerie sight and also a tangible reminder that just hours
before thousands of vehicles had been passing through one of the most
heavily traveled sections of Interstate 5, on their way toward Los Angeles
on a rainy Friday night.

By Saturday the rain had stopped but this winding section of interstate
that carries motorists out of the high desert and through a warren of
canyons as it descends into Los Angeles' San Fernando Valley looked more
like a bombed-out war zone than a freeway.

Five to six big-rig trucks and several passenger cars had had piled up
the night before in a fiery, chain-reaction tunnel crash that left three
people dead and 10 injured.

People who read this also read:

Search
on for Victims After Fiery Pileup

Indians
beat Red Sox 13-6 in 11 innings to tie ALCS

Dickey:
Enjoy Harbaugh era while it lasts

Saturday's
winning lottery numbers

Stop
their pay, send them home

"It looked like a bomb went off," said Los Angeles County firefighter
Scott Clark, who had arrived along with approximately 300 other
firefighters soon after the 11 p.m. crash. He and most of the others
stayed well past dawn to battle the flames that shot out of both ends of
the tunnel and reached as high as 100 feet into the sky.

The pileup, triggered by the collision of two big rigs, quickly grew as
one vehicle struck another. Five trucks burst into flames and the fire
quickly spread to the others as people ran for their lives.

Twenty people escaped the burning tunnel, including 10 who suffered
minor to moderate injuries, said Los Angeles County fire Inspector Jason
Hurd. They were taken to hospitals where they were treated for neck and
back injuries and burns.

Hours later, the stubborn fire finally doused, the bodies of three
people were found inside the tunnel. California Highway Patrol Officer
David Porter couldn't immediately say if one of them was a trucker who had
previously been listed as unaccounted for.

The flames and smoke kept firefighters from entering the tunnel until
mid-afternoon Saturday when, with the help of state Department of
Transportation workers, they began hauling out piles of wreckage and
looking for victims.

"We're going to have to do a very methodical search," Deputy Chief John
Tripp had said earlier. "There could be unfortunately more people that
were not able to escape."

Although the tunnel is designed to carry truck traffic through a
mountain pass area, Hurd said passenger cars may also use it, raising
concerns that some may have been trapped inside.

The fire's intense heat also caused concrete to crack and melt, sending
chucks falling onto the road below. Firefighters worried that the damage
could cause parts of the tunnel to collapse, and they kept the interstate
closed indefinitely.

At a news conference late Saturday afternoon, authorities said they
hoped to complete their search for victims Sunday and reopen the
interstate on Tuesday.

Interstate 5 is a key route connecting Los Angeles to Northern
California, as well as a major commuter link connecting Los Angeles to its
northern suburbs. There are likely to be massive traffic jams in the area
if it is still closed when people return to work on Monday.

The highway spans the entire West Coast of the United States, from
Canada to Mexico.

The section closed Friday was shut down twice before by disasters - the
Sylmar earthquake of 1971 and the Northridge quake of 1994 - when large
overpasses over canyons collapsed. The worst of those temblors, the
Northridge quake, also damaged another nearby highway, snarling traffic
throughout the area.

Before firefighters began to haul debris away from the tunnel on
Saturday, the charred skeletons of a handful of big rigs could be seen
peeking out of the tunnel's south end. At least one of them was carrying
produce, and a smoldering load of cabbages lay scattered across the
pavement. A pile of charred truck debris could also be seen protruding
from a tunnel wall.

The one recognizable vehicle in the mess was the blue truck cab with
its turn indicator blinking.

Copyright 2007 The Associated Press.
All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast,
rewritten or redistributed.

Add to
My News

|

Print
this Article

|

Email
this Article

|

Leave
a Comment

Save
and follow updates to this story in My News, or view/add
your comments. No registration required.

Comment on this article or topic

Comments are regulated by the Terms of Use.

Name

Comments

characters left

Check for new
comments

New
York News

'The
View' Co-Host Going on Leave

NHL
Capsules

Ft.
Drum soldier killed by explosive in Kirkuk

11
church closings planned for Niagara County

Seeking
to Save Shelter Dogs From Death

New
York Lottery Take 5 drawing

Marist
defense powers win over LaSalle

Sabres
score 4 goals in 2nd period, beat Capitals 7-3

Massachusetts
beats St. Lawrence in hockey

3-Goal
Surge Lifts Senators Past Rangers

Add to My
News

Print
this Article

Email this Article

Leave
a comment

View as PDF

Digg This Story

Add
to del.icio.us

Politics

Entertainment

Sports

Business

Strange

Technology

Science

Health

Top Video News

Most
Popular Stories

Top
Stories

1.
European Cities Tackling Climate Change

Fir and pine chips are piled high outside
the electricity-and-heating plant in Vaxjo, Sweden Aug. 20, 2007. Vaxjo, a
city of 78,000, has become a pioneer in the fight against climate change,
with a target to cut emissions by 50 percent by 2010, 70 percent by 2025,
and the long-term goal of becoming completely free of fossil fuels in the
following decades. (AP Photo/John McConnico)

2.
UN Envoy to Myanmar Heads Back to Asia
3.
Poll: Clinton Has Large Lead in N.H.
4.
Jailed T.I., West, Common Win 2 Awards
5.
Rice Lowers Mideast Talks' Expectations
6.
Detentions to Be Top Topic for Mukasey
7.
Nixon Nails Old Mates, Indians Tie ALCS
8.
Israeli Historian Wins German Book Prize
9.
Bombay to Shut Down U.S. Operations
10.
Malaysia Probes Plane Stowaway Case

Most
Popular Stories

Top
Stories

Rice
Opens Mideast Shuttle Diplomacy

U.S Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice,
right, and Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak meet in Jerusalem, Sunday
Oct. 14, 2007. U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice will shuttle
between Israel and the West Bank next week to help narrow gaps as Israel
and the Palestinians try to frame contours of a final peace deal before a
high stakes Mideast conference. (AP Photo/ David Silverman, Pool)

Detentions
to Be Top Topic for Mukasey

Poll:
Clinton Has Large Lead in N.H.

Search
on for Victims After Fiery Pileup

European
Cities Tackling Climate Change

Jailed
T.I., West, Common Win 2 Awards

UN
Envoy to Myanmar Heads Back to Asia

Nixon
Nails Old Mates, Indians Tie ALCS

Latest Examiner Comments
* Share your thoughts on any
article. Just click "Post Your Comments" at the top of a story. Your
comments appear immediately for all to read.

RE: "Officials
still searching for cause of Fermi II steam line holes" (10:38 PM MST)

Examiner
Reader said, "FMJ .223/5.56x45mm munitions will not
penetrate high pressure steam pipes even at close range, we aren't
talki ..." (More)

RE: "Vatican
Publishes Knights Templar Papers" (9:42
PM MST)

Examiner
Reader said, "Jaques de Molay, thou art vindicated! Great
is truth, and it shall prevail, even over seven centuries. ..."
(More)

RE: "Panel
discusses Md. governor's corruption case, 30 years later" (7:41 PM MST)

Examiner
Reader said, "When does O'Malley's corruption case start?
You know, the $58,000,000 he pocketed in Baltimore City. And the
..." (More)

Home
Today In
Pictures
Today
in History
News By
State
News By
Topic
Search

My
News

News
New
York
New
York
US
World

Politics
White
House
N.
Korea
Iraq
Iran
Bill
Sammon
Yeas
& Nays
Race
for 2008

Entertainment
Movies
Movie
Reviews
TV
Music
Strange

Sports
NASCAR
Basketball
College
Football
Soccer
Hockey
Baseball
Golf

Business
Technology
Science
Health
Stock
Market
Stock
Quotes
News
Releases

Blogs
Tapscott's
Copy Desk
Beeler's
Cartoons
Yeas
& Nays
Today
in History
Scoop!
Celebrity
Photos
Search
Blogs

Classifieds

Autos

Jobs

Real
Estate

Add News to Your
Website | RSS | News by Topic | Contact Us | Join Examiner | Terms of Use | Privacy Policy

Advertise with Examiner: In Print | Online

Alabama Birmingham Alaska
Anchorage Arizona
Phoenix Arkansas
Little Rock
California San Francisco Los Angeles San Jose San Diego Colorado
Denver Connecticut
Hartford Delaware
Wilmington District
Of Columbia Washington DC Florida
Miami Tampa Bay Georgia
Atlanta Hawaii
Honolulu

Idaho Boise Illinois
Chicago Indiana
Indianapolis Iowa
Des Moines Kansas
Wichita Kentucky
Louisville
Louisiana New Orleans Maine
Portland Maryland
Baltimore
Massachusetts Boston Michigan
Detroit Minnesota
Minneapolis
Mississippi Jackson Missouri
St. Louis

Montana Billings Nebraska
Omaha Nevada Las Vegas New
Hampshire Manchester New
Jersey Newark New Mexico
Albuquerque New
York New York North
Carolina Charlotte North
Dakota Fargo Ohio Cleveland Oklahoma
Oklahoma City
Oregon Portland Pennsylvania
Pittsburgh Philadelphia

Rhode Island Providence South
Carolina Columbia South Dakota
Sioux Falls
Tennessee Nashville Texas
Houston Dallas Utah Salt Lake City
Vermont Burlington Virginia
Norfolk Washington
Seattle West Virginia
Charleston
Wisconsin Milwaukee Wyoming
Cheyenne National

(page generated in
0.19 seconds)