2 dead in tunnel tragedy

Published: Oct. 13, 2007 at 4:07 PM

SANTA CLARITA, Calif., Oct. 13 (UPI) -- A fiery multi-truck pile-up in an Interstate 5 tunnel in California has left two people dead and at least eight more injured, it was reported Saturday.

California Highway Patrol dispatcher David Porter told CNN two victims had died and at least eight more were hurt in the Friday night accident in a trucks-only tunnel near Santa Clarita. Fifteen trucks were believed to be involved, CNN reported.

The accident and subsequent shutdown of Interstate 5 left some motorists stranded for several hours.

Inspector Jason Hurd of the Los Angeles County Fire Department said 20 people escaped the tunnel and one person was unaccounted for.

Los Angeles County Deputy Fire Chief John Tripp said chunks of concrete broke off the sides of the tunnel and a state Transportation Department spokesman said the tunnel would need “some shoring up.”

"It has impacted the structural stability of the tunnel," Tripp said, but the extent had not been determined.

© 2007 United Press International, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
Order reprints



Additional News Stories
Mars orbiter resumes science operations (3 min)
Media revenue streams in modern shift (5 min)
Soil DNA study revises some paleontology (7 min)
Couples who share housework are happier (11 min)
Coffee, tea linked to lower diabetes risk (17 min)
Jobless in Detroit: Beyond a numbers game (22 min)
Turner: 'I'll be back in three weeks' (37 min)
fark
If you wear tights, UGGs, and a North Face jacket, you might be a 'Coastie'
Come to the upscale suburbs to sell heroin and oxy to bored white kids, and we'll throw in this...
Today's Fark-ready headline: "Plot thickens over Russian pantyhose probe"
"I work at a call center, and I make $10 an hour," he said. "It's surreal. I feel like a loser."...
The worst thing about the kidney exchange program is that by the time your body gets used to it,...
Parents' Television Council files indecency complaint against "Family Guy" with the FCC. This is...