A teenager was arrested on suspicion of DUI after a crash that left his two passengers dead and forced the closure of southbound lanes on the 5 Freeway through Santa Fe Springs Tuesday morning.
The crash was reported at 1:39 a.m. just north of Carmenita Road, according to the California Highway Patrol’s traffic incident log.
A Honda Accord struck a big rig that was stopped on the shoulder of the freeway, CHP Sgt. Olivera said.
It was unclear why the big rig was stopped but the driver of the Honda drifted onto the shoulder while driving at a high rate of speed and hit the back of the truck.
The truck driver was not injured, authorities said.
Three men were inside the Honda at the time of the crash. Two male passengers, including one who was ejected from the vehicle, died in the collision, Olivera said.
“The driver was taken to UCI [Medical Center] and he’s been arrested for DUI,” Olivera said.
Video from the scene showed the driver, later identified as Landon Hazelwood, 19, of Garden Grove, conscious and speaking as he was taken to an ambulance.
Hazelwood is now in police custody, authorities told KTLA 5’s Carlos Herrera.
“I’ve been doing this for 15 years and this is a pretty bad one,” Olivera said.
A SigAlert was issued for all lanes of the Southbound 5 Freeway at Carmenita Road, which caused extensive backups.
Just before 8 a.m., officials reopened all but the number four lane, which was remain closed until further notice, according to the CHP.
