Three people were killed in a fiery chain-reaction vehicle crash on Interstate 5 in San Diego County on Thursday morning near Camp Pendleton.
The crash was reported shortly after 3 a.m. on the southbound side of the freeway near Las Pulgas Road, north of Oceanside, according to the California Highway Patrol’s online incident log. A vehicle stopped on the freeway was hit from behind by a military Jeep and immediately caught fire.
NBC news affiliate KNSD reported the car crash caused a chain reaction and four motorcycle riders crashed into a van. Three of the motorcyclists died at the scene, CHP Officer Hunter Gerber told the news station.
Traffic remained completely stalled at 10 a.m. several hours after the crash as a SigAlert was issued around 4 a.m.
Traffic began backing up at 6:30 a.m. just past the Orange County line, according to a Times reporter caught in the traffic. Emergency vehicles, including CHP cruisers and Camp Pendleton’s Fire Department, sped down the southbound median lane to get through traffic. After several hours stalled in traffic, drivers made illegal U-turns on the freeway and crossed over the median to jump onto the northbound side of the freeway. Others remained in their vehicles with their doors cracked open as the sun baked drivers stuck in the morning gridlock.
At one point, a woman got out of her GMC Yukon and handed out chips to people stuck in traffic, drawing weary thank-yous from drivers and passengers.