Crash on the Grapevine Holds Back Traffic for Hours
Posted on September 6, 2012 Written By: iadminlaw
(Photo credit: wiesmann)
During the holidays, roads and freeways are usually packed as travelers commute to their vacation destinations. Families drive to visit relatives and friends travel to enjoy the last weekend of summer. While there was fun in the sun this weekend, the crowded roadways proved to be an entirely different story. Congested freeways, drivers racing to get back home, and many people travelling homebound created a dangerous environment for people. Unfortunately, a wrongful death accident took place the day after Labor Day as people were driving on the freeway.
On the long stretch of road on the 5 north, and what is known as the Grapevine, a sports utility vehicle crashed which caused a chain reaction pile up. One woman and a young girl were killed and at least nine other victims were injured. The car accident took place on Tuesday, September 4, around 5 a.m. The Grapevine road is known for its winding mountain pass just north of Los Angeles. The road can prove to be dangerous for inexperienced drivers or other drivers simply not paying attention on the road.
Driving southbound, a 41-year old woman was driving her SUV when she hit the center divider in the Gorman area. The impact of the crash caused her and her 11-year old daughter to fly out of the car. They were declared dead on the scene when authorities arrived. It is not clear whether the two females were wearing seatbelts.
Once the SUV struck the median, other cars hit the wreckage which spurred a vehicle pileup. Other cars swerved to avoid the crash which caused them to spin out. Cars were hitting other cars and from that point on, at least several personal injuries were received.
Four victims received critical personal injury and five others had minor personal injuries. So far, no other identities have been released of any of the other victims. However, it is known that some of the people injured included three girls of ages 2, 12, and 16.
The southbound lanes of the I-5 were shut down for more than two hours, creating dead traffic as helicopters flew in to fly out the victims. After a couple of hours, a shoulder was finally opened so that cars could slowly start to file through. Morning traffic was highly congested as people returned from Labor Day.
If you have been involved in a car accident, contact a personal injury attorney and file a claim today.
