A box truck and a pickup truck were involved in a fiery crash on the 5 Freeway, causing traffic to be backed up for miles during the Wednesday morning rush hour.
Preliminary information indicates that the crash occurred on the southbound span of the 5 at the Beach Boulevard exit, close to the Los Angeles-Orange County line, around 6 a.m.
Footage from Sky5 shows the box truck overturned on its side while the crumpled remains of the pickup – which was said to be fully engulfed immediately after the crash – were being loaded onto a tow truck.
“You can see the delays as you make your way down from the 605 Freeway,” KTLA’s Rich Prickett said from Sky5.
Northbound traffic was also impacted, according to Prickett. A SigAlert issued for the affected stretch of the freeway indicated that traffic was slowed beginning at Orangethorpe.
The SigAlert also advised that motorists could expect delays of up to two hours.
The Beach Boulevard off-ramp, which was temporarily closed after the collision, has been reopened.
As of 7:30 a.m., only the far left lane and the carpool lane were open.
To avoid the delays, KTLA 5 traffic reporter Ginger Chan suggested taking the southbound 605 Freeway to the eastbound 91 Freeway to get back onto the 5.