A series of collisions near a busy Riverside interchange has left one person dead and closed a portion of the 91 Freeway for several hours Tuesday morning.

The tragic events began shortly before 1 a.m. when as many as eight vehicles were involved in a pileup on the northbound 215 Freeway near Center Street.

One person had to be extricated from a vehicle and was taken to a local hospital as officials worked to divert building traffic, according to freelance media firm OnScene.TV.

A second collision was reported when an SUV hit the back of a semi-truck at around 2 a.m. on the eastbound 91 near the 60/215 Freeway interchange approaching the initial crash site.

One person, who has not been identified, was pronounced dead at the scene.

A SigAlert was issued for the closure of the northbound 91 lanes near the interchange.

The crash scene was cleared around 7 a.m. allowing the freeway lanes to reopen.