A 50-year-old Cudahy man was killed Monday when the big rig he was driving crashed into a pickup truck and overturned on the Long Beach (710) Freeway, authorities said.
The crash on the northbound side of the freeway, just south of the San Diego (405) Freeway interchange, was reported to the California Highway Patrol at 9:05 a.m.
The driver of the big rig, a 2008 Freightliner hauling metal bars, was pronounced dead at the scene at 9:33 a.m. The 34-year-old Santa Ana man who was driving the 2007 Ford F-550 pickup was not injured, according to the CHP.
The crash closed all lanes of the freeway until about 1:40 p.m., when traffic was allowed to trickle through. All lanes were reopened at about 3:35 p.m., the CHP reported.
According to the preliminary investigation, the big rig driver swerved to avoid slower-moving vehicles, including the pickup truck.
The Freightliner tractor-trailer combination struck the Ford, veered to the left and overturned, causing fatal injuries to the big rig driver, who wasn’t using a safety restraint, according to the CHP.
The victim’s name was not immediately available.
— City News Service