Crime & Safety

Freeway Accidents Double in Rainy L.A. County

"It's not the weather that's caused the crashes: it's the drivers," says one CHP officer.

Originally posted at 7:24 a.m. Feb. 27, 2014. Updated with more recent figures.

California Highway Patrol officers logged 111 traffic crashes on Los Angeles County freeways and other CHP-patrolled roads in a four-hour period this morning, compared with 53 accidents during the same period a week ago, authorities said.

Today's wrecks were reported between 5 a.m. and 9 a.m., CHP Officer Tony Polizzi said.

Find out what's happening in Agoura Hillswith free, real-time updates from Patch.

After the rain started last night, the CHP logged 77 accidents between 10 p.m. and 2 a.m., compared with 15 from the same period a week earlier.

"It's not the weather that's caused the crashes: it's the drivers," CHP Officer Francisco Villalobos said. "We've seen a significant increase in the number of traffic collisions at on-ramps and off-ramps, spinning out and hitting guardrails. That tells us people are driving too fast for the conditions."

Find out what's happening in Agoura Hillswith free, real-time updates from Patch.

The problems included a series of multi-vehicle collisions in the Pasadena area that blocked Foothill (210) Freeway transition lanes in both directions.

The first accident, involving three big rigs and a Mercedes-Benz, closed the two-lane connector road between separate sections of the eastbound 210 around 11:35 p.m. Wednesday, CHP Officer Alex Rubio said. No injuries were reported.

The second accident, around 12:30 a.m., closed the westbound transition lanes of the freeway, which also connect separate sections of the 210 west, after a big rig jackknifed and collided with a sedan.

In a third incident, a big rig jackknifed at 12:40 a.m. and blocked the two transition lanes on an overpass from the eastbound Ventura (134) Freeway to the westbound 210, according to the CHP.

--City News Service


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