Crashes, Reports Of Flooding Hit Slick Southern California Freeways

EAGLE ROCK (CBSLA) — Southern California’s freeways are a mess Thursday as the first big storm of the season hits the region.

Overnight, mostly light rain fell on the Los Angeles area, but that little bit of rain still caused five major crashes by 4:30 a.m. that prompted Sigalerts from the California Highway Patrol.

One of those crashes left a big rig hanging over the side of the eastbound 134 Freeway near Figueroa Street in Eagle Rock at about 2:10 a.m.

Amazingly, no serious injuries were reported in the crash, but some fuel reportedly leaked from the truck and got into the soil and onto a street, according to the CHP. Three left lanes of the eastbound 134 freeway were blocked for hours.

All lanes reopened at 10:50 a.m.

In Chatsworth, the westbound 118 Freeway was shut down at Topanga Canyon Blvd. after a big rig hauling 20,000 pounds of beverages jackknifed at about 4 a.m., leaving the truck sprawling across all lanes.

The 118 Freeway reopened at about 11:40 a.m.

Several lanes of the northbound 101 Freeway at Mulholland Drive in Calabasas were also closed after a big rig suddenly caught fire. No injuries were reported, but only two right lanes were open to traffic through the busy morning commute.

All lanes were back open by shortly after 10 a.m.

Flooding was also reported on the westbound 10 Freeway in Downtown Los Angeles and the southbound 14 Freeway at Sand Canyon in Santa Clarita.

Inland, another big rig truck jackknifed on the northbound 15 Freeway, south of Baseline Road in Fontana at about 8:42 a.m. Three left lanes were blocked until further notice.

According to the CHP, between 5 and 9 a.m., there were approximately 365 collisions reported in Los Angeles County, compared to just 93 during the same time frame Wednesday.

Rain is expected to be heaviest during the morning commute, but another light wave of moisture is expected to hit during the evening commute.