Crime & Safety
215 Freeway Closed Several Hours Following Big Rig Crash Near Riverside: UPDATED
All lanes of the freeway were temporarily shut down after the Monday afternoon crash, but the southbound side faced a longer closure.
UPDATE 6:55 p.m.: The California Highway Patrol reports that the three left-most lanes of the freeway are now open headed southbound. The number four lane is expected to remain closed until 8:30 p.m. or 9:30 p.m.
ORIGINAL STORY AS FOLLOWS:
RIVERSIDE, CA - A semi tractor-trailer plowed through a center divider railing and overturned Monday on Interstate 215 in Riverside, trapping the driver and blocking all southbound lanes Monday afternoon. The crash also led to a temporary closure of the entire freeway.
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The crash happened about 12:10 p.m. just north of the Van Buren Boulevard exit, directly west of March Air Reserve Base, according to the California Highway Patrol. As of 2 p.m., the entire southbound side remained closed and officials could not provide an estimate for when it will reopen. The map above shows the severe congestion in the area as of 2:15 p.m.
The big rig, carrying hundreds of pounds of produce, went out of control for unknown reasons on the northbound side of the 215, crashed through the center divider railing and came to rest across all three southbound lanes, the CHP reported.
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The driver suffered unspecified injuries and was unable to extricate himself from the wreckage. Riverside city and county fire crews were attempting to free him, according to reports from the scene.
Photos from our #MorenoIncident courtesy of Deputy Chief Williams and Battalion Chief Casady. pic.twitter.com/FrRuPSXWN3
— CAL FIRE Riverside (@CALFIRERRU) March 6, 2017
The Riverside County Fire Department reports it sent more than two dozen firefighters to the scene to assist.
"Riverside County Hazardous Materials Team and Environmental Health have been started to the location for an unknown quantity of diesel fuel that has spilled," an agency spokeswoman said.
A SigAlert was issued at 12:15 p.m. as a miles-long traffic jam developed on south I-215, with significant slowing on the northbound side, too. All southbound traffic was being diverted into Riverside via Van Buren.
No other motorists were involved.
Crash images courtesy of Kaylaa Simonsen; Map via Caltrans / City News Service contributed to this report
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