A fiery crash involving a gasoline tanker truck and an SUV on the westbound Century (105) Freeway in Hawthorne Friday left both drivers dead and prompted closure of the freeway in both directions.
The collision occurred about 5:15 a.m. on the westbound 105 near Prairie Avenue, according to the California Highway Patrol.
The names of the drivers who died in the crash were withheld, pending notification of their relatives.
Uber driver Hisaki Shimidu told reporters he saw the SUV speeding through traffic before the crash.
“I saw one reckless driver (going) very fast — 75 to 80 miles per hour … almost like racing,” Shimidu said. The SUV then struck the center divider, he said.
CHP Capt. Doug Young said the cause of the collision was under investigation.
“What we have right now is a set of double gasoline tankers,” Young told reporters after daybreak. “The front tanker overturned after hitting the center divider wall. It appears to have gotten involved with a civilian SUV.”
The freeway was closed in both directions after the crash, backing up traffic for miles. About 8 a.m., the eastbound freeway was reopened, but westbound lanes remained blocked as of 10:45 a.m.
It was unclear how long the westbound closure would remain in effect. Caltrans engineers were sent to the scene to inspect the pavement damage.
The tanker fire burned for more than an hour, and some fuel spilled onto the roadway shoulder, where firefighters dammed the flow so crews could clean up the spill. Another tanker truck was brought in to remove gasoline from the rear tanker trailer.
In the aftermath of the crash, some stranded motorists got out of their vehicles and bought food from a catering truck that also was stuck in traffic.
Metro Green Line service was suspended between the Hawthorne/Lennox and Vermont/Athens stations due to the fire, Metro spokesman Jose Ubaldo said, adding that bus bridges were provided for rail passengers affected by the closure.
Metro crews had to wait for permission from first responders to enter the affected area so they could assess the damage to the rail system, Ubaldo said.