SUV Overturns on 405, Killing 1

An SUV flew off a Ventura (101) Freeway interchange bridge in Sherman Oaks today, landed on the San Diego (405) Freeway, and the 30 year-old West Hills man driving it was killed, the California Highway Patrol said.

The wreck was reported at 1:56 a.m. Motorist Daniel Contreras was the only one in the SUV, and he was declared dead at the scene, according to a department statement.

Contreras was going west on the Ventura Freeway when his SUV struck a metal guard rail approaching the 405. The SUV went over the guardrail and a raised concrete barrier as momentum carried it towards a gap between the 101 mainline lanes and the ramp for the southbound 405 transition road.

The vehicle fell through the gap between the two bridges, fell about 25 feet onto the northbound 405, and overturned, a CHP report said. It did not appear that any northbound 405 traffic hit it.