Laguna Niguel Man Survives Fiery I-5 Crash

LAGUNA NIGUEL, CA — California Highway Patrol released the names of five drivers involved in Tuesday's fatal crash that killed one and wounded ten others. Lanes were closed in both directions of the 5 freeway in the area of Los Feliz for the majority of the day.

Ryan Brubaker, 43 of Laguna Niguel, was driving a sedan in the southbound lane and was not hospitalized in the Golden State freeway collision that closed the I-5 for seven hours on Tuesday.

Other victims in the crash included:

Rodolfo Perez, 48, of Bakersfield, was driving a tractor trailer in the southbound lane. He was sent to Glendale Adventist.

Kimberly Busacay, 25, of Chatsworth, who was driving a sedan in the southbound lane, was sent to USC Medical Center.

Rafael Ramirez, 22, of Los Angeles, who was driving a sedan in the northbound lane, was sent to St. Joseph's Hospital.

Nick Agajanian Sr., 63, of Fontana, driving a pickup truck in the northbound lane, was also sent to St. Joseph's.

According to Jose Nunez of the California Highway Patrol, the driver of a northbound big rig inexplicably swerved across the center median and slammed into another big rig in the southbound lanes, prompting the chain-reaction crash that ultimately included three passenger vehicles, a passenger van, another big rig and a pickup hauling a trailer.

The driver of that northbound big rig was killed in the accident, according to a release from the CHP, but his identity has not been released pending notification of the next of kin.

One of the passenger vehicles wound up wedged beneath one of the big rigs. The driver of the third big rig involved in the crash managed to drive to the right shoulder of the freeway, avoiding the major fire that erupted.

A witness told KNX Newsradio that the driver of a Toyota Prius may have cut off the northbound big rig, causing it to careen over the center divider.

"The cause of this traffic collision and if alcohol and or drugs were a factor, is still under investigation," according to the CHP.

Firefighters and paramedics set up a triage area on the freeway to treat the injured. The critically injured person was a 27-year-old woman, according to the Los Angeles Fire Department.

A dog in one of the big rigs also died, fire officials said. The nine other people who were treated suffered only minor injuries.

Paige Austin, City News Service contributed to this report.

Image: ABC7 screengrab