Three people were killed Sunday when a small mini-Cooper car apparently going the wrong way on the Santa Ana (5) Freeway in Commerce plowed into an oncoming van.
There was no word about why the mini-car may have been going the wrong way. Traffic was backed up in a major jam as one side of the freeway was shut down, forcing traffic onto surface streets.
The crash occurred at 5:20 a.m. on the northbound freeway, south of Slauson Avenue, said California Highway Patrol Officer Peter Nicholson.
Paramedics dispatched to the scene at 5:22 a.m. reported that all three people died at the location, according to a county fire department dispatcher.
A SigAlert was issued at 5:36 a.m. that closed the northbound freeway at Slauson Avenue and diverted traffic at Paramount Boulevard, Nicholson said.
A dark-colored Mini Cooper may have been driving southbound in the northbound lanes of traffic, striking a van, killing two people inside that vehicle — as well as the motorist driving the Mini Cooper, according to sources at the scene.
–City News Service