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I-5 Reopens After Gruesome Pileup

Authorities still have not identified the victims

By Sam Gale Rosen,  Newser Staff

Posted Oct 15, 2007 6:36 PM CDT

(Newser) – Some California I-5 lanes reopened today after Friday's massive 15-truck pileup, but police still haven't assessed blame for the blaze. One trucker phoned a friend after slamming into a semi in the tunnel, the Los Angeles Times reports; he described a fire, vehicles exploded and the line went dead. Police say 3 died in the fire, including a 6-year-old boy.

Rush hour traffic was light today when the freeway opened earlier than expected: "They got a surprise this morning, finding the freeway actually open," said a highway patrol spokesman. "Everybody went to bed with bad news and woke up with good news." Southbound truck lanes will stay closed while authorities assess the tunnel's structural fitness.

Two of many trucks burn in the truck lanes of the south/bound Interstate 5 in the Newhall Pass between Santa Clarita and Los Angeles early Saturday morning, Oct. 13, 207. Rain slick roads caused several of the trucks to overturn. (AP Photo/Mike Meadows)
Two of many trucks burn in the truck lanes of the south/bound Interstate 5 in the Newhall Pass between Santa Clarita and Los Angeles early Saturday morning, Oct. 13, 207. Rain slick roads caused several...   (Associated Press)
An unidentified forensic investigator photographs the mangled, blackened debris of more than a dozen big-rig trucks hauled out of the tunnel for investigators working in an area next to Interstate-5 Monday, Oct. 15, 2007 in Santa Clarita, Calif. Thirty-one vehicles were involved in the pileup in the curving tunnel on...
An unidentified forensic investigator photographs the mangled, blackened debris of more than a dozen big-rig trucks hauled out of the tunnel for investigators working in an area next to Interstate-5 Monday,...   (Associated Press)
Towing crews haul the mangled, blackened debris of more than a dozen big-rig trucks out of the tunnel into an area set for investigators next to the Interstate-5 Monday, Oct. 15, 2007 in Santa Clarita, Calif. Thirty-one vehicles were involved in the pileup in the curving tunnel on Interstate 5...
Towing crews haul the mangled, blackened debris of more than a dozen big-rig trucks out of the tunnel into an area set for investigators next to the Interstate-5 Monday, Oct. 15, 2007 in Santa Clarita,...   (Associated Press)
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