A man and a woman were killed, and another person was critically injured Saturday in two crashes on the northbound San Gabriel River (605) Freeway in Long Beach that happened within minutes and a short distance of each other.
It wasn’t clear if the two crashes were related. Each of the crashes involved one fatality, and traffic was backed up for miles as the freeway was closed for hours.
Initial information indicated that one of the victims was killed when he or she walked out of a crashed vehicle and was stuck by another vehicle. The other fatality was that of a person thrown from a crashed vehicle. It was not known if that person was wearing a seat belt.
The crashes were reported at 1:04 a.m. just south of Carson Street, prompting the California Highway Patrol to block all lanes, according to CHP Officer Elizabeth Kravig.
The traffic lanes were re-opened at 7:56 a.m., according to CHP Officer Tony Polizzi.
The first crash involved two vehicles that appeared to have struck each other in or close to the carpool lane, according to Long Beach Fire Department Capt. Mark Miller.
A motorist from the crash was ejected from a vehicle and was pronounced dead at the scene. An occupant in another vehicle had to be extricated with the Jaws of Life and was rushed to an area trauma center, Miller said. Another person was rushed to an area hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.
The second crash occurred a quarter mile north of the first and also on the northbound freeway, where a vehicle hit the center divider. The motorist exited the vehicle and was struck by another vehicle. That person was also pronounced dead at the scene, Miller said.
–City News Service