Suspicious Device Shuts Down Hollywood Freeway at Barham

Originally posted at 8:16 p.m. Sept. 30, 2014. Edited with new details.

The Hollywood (101) Freeway near Universal Studios was closed tonight when a two-vehicle collision resulted in bomb squads being called to examine a possible dangerous device inside one of the vehicles.

The collision involving an SUV and a sedan occurred on the southbound portion of the freeway at Barham Boulevard, just south of Universal City, authorities said.

One of the vehicles burst into flames, said California Highway Patrol Officer Patrick Kimball.

A Los Angeles Police Department bomb squad was called at 6:37 p.m. Officers with the bomb squad were concerned enough by a possible device in one of the vehicles that traffic was ordered diverted from the freeway in both directions.

A sheriff’s department bomb squad was also called, said Los Angeles Police Department Officer Sara Faden.

The California Highway Patrol issued a SigAlert.

By 9 p.m., the freeway was reopened in both directions, according to the CHP, and KCAL9 reported no explosive device was found.

The matter is under investigation by the CHP, according to Faden.

--City News Service

PHOTO Patch file photo.