2-truck crash shuts down Grapevine near Bakersfield

San Francisco Chronicle ^ | 7/28/5 | Steve Rubenstein

[SmithL]

Bakersfield -- Interstate 5 was shut down in both directions south of Bakersfield this morning after two trucks collided before dawn and caught fire, backing up traffic on the main road between San Francisco and Los Angeles for miles, the California Highway Patrol said.

The accident happened around 4 a.m. in the northbound lanes of the stretch of road known as the Grapevine, near Gorman. Traffic backed up for more than two miles in both directions before Highway Patrol officers sent motorists on a 148-mile-long detour via Highways 14 and 58.

"It's a real mess down there," said Officer Johnny Fisher. "The whole Grapevine is shut down."

One of the trucks was carrying organic peroxide. Los Angeles County Fire Department officials dispatched a hazardous material team to monitor the accident but the fumes were not believed to pose a danger, inspector John Mancha said.

ÊThe collision sparked a brush fire alongside the freeway that spread to 25 acres before it was extinguished about two hours later by some 200 firefighters, Mancha said.

ÊThe manager of the McDonald's restaurant in Gorman, Ricardo Cruz, said the traffic diversion had left the freeway entirely empty and that his only customers were Caltrans workers and Highway Patrol officers.

"It looks strange out there," he said.

[SmithL]

148 mile detour? Ouch!