A big-rig driver was killed Thursday morning in a solo crash on the northbound 605 Freeway in Santa Fe Springs.

The man, whose name was not released, was reportedly 63 years old and apparently traveling alone, said Officer Ed Jacobs of the California Highway Patrol.

As the morning rush-hour commute began, one northbound lane was blocked, along with the transition road from the southbound Santa Ana Freeway to the northbound 605 Freeway. The accident caused considerable traffic backup, especially on the 605 Freeway in both directions.

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A fuel spill closed the southbound 605 Freeway just north of eastbound Interstate 10 in Baldwin Park on Monday, backing up traffic for miles.

Lanes were closed about 2 p.m. after metal debris punctured the fuel tank of an 18-wheeler, leaving a fuel slick that extended nearly a mile, said California Highway Patrol Officer Krystal Carter.

A cleanup crew from Caltrans was on the scene. There was no estimate of when the lanes would reopen.

Traffic was being diverted to a transition road for the eastbound 10 and then back onto the southbound 605.

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The rain that inundated Southern California overnight flooded roads and caused a string of crashes, at least one fatal, according to California Highway Patrol.

A driver died after his pickup truck collided with another truck while he was traveling northbound on Interstate 5 near Pyramid Lake at about 6:30 a.m. Sunday, just south of Vista Del Lago, according to California Highway Patrol Officer Ed Jacobs. The man's name has not been released, Jacobs said.

Another person injured in the crash was flown to a nearby hospital, Jacobs said.

Jacobs said it was unclear whether snow on the freeway contributed to the wreck, which triggered a second crash.

“The weather doesn’t cause crashes -- it’s people who drive fast in the weather that causes crashes,” Jacobs said.

More than twice as many crashes occurred overnight compared with a normal weekend, Jacobs said: 170 crashes from 9 p.m. Saturday to 5 a.m. Sunday compared with 82 crashes during the same time last weekend.

The 110 Freeway was closed briefly Sunday morning in Highland Park due to flooding but reopened by 8:30 a.m., Jacobs said. California 14 was closed in the Antelope Valley for about an hour due to ice and snow but reopened by 8:34 a.m., he said.

-- Molly Hennessy-Fiske

Photo: Hikers walk toward the snow-covered mountains in Deukmejian Wilderness State Park in La Crescenta on Sunday morning. Credit: Katie Falkenberg / For the Los Angeles Times

Four people were killed Friday morning when a speeding BMW veered off the side of the 215-10 freeway connector in San Bernardino and slammed into a pole.

The three men and one woman inside the car, all in their late teens or early 20s, were killed just after 2 a.m., said California Highway Patrol officers.

The northbound 215 Freeway and eastbound 10 Freeway connector was closed for several hours while officials investigated the accident.

Information on the victims had not been released, said San Bernardino County coroner’s officials.

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Photo credit: KTLA-TV

Los Angeles County transportation officials this week announced a new round of public outreach meetings on the controversial proposal to connect the 710 Freeway to the 210. But the meetings have sparked skepticism from opponents of the plan.

They criticized the 18 public meetings as a waste of money and a charade, insisting that transportation officials have already decided to push for an underground tunnel, which La Cañada Flintridge, Pasadena, Glendale and other communities have adamantly opposed.

“These are the expenditures that are chewing up the millions of dollars,” said Glendale Mayor Ara Najarian, who has been a vocal opponent of the project during his time on the Metropolitan Transportation Authority Board of Directors.

But county transit officials said the public meetings were an essential part of the required environmental review process, and insisted that they were keeping their options open.

Read the full story here.

-- Melanie Hicken, TImes Community News

Photo: Los Angeles Times

Strong winds on San Bernardino County freeways caused five big rigs to overturn in less than three hours Wednesday, the California Highway Patrol said.

Lanes on the southbound 15 Freeway at the 10 Freeway connector in Rancho Cucamonga were closed for 4 1/2 hours while authorities cleaned up a fuel spill from the first accident at 4:15 a.m.

Authorities said the 58-mph winds in the area were the strongest San Bernardino County has experienced in eight months.

Two more rigs overturned shortly after 6 a.m. in the same area, but on the northbound 15 Freeway at the 10 Freeway connector, said CHP spokeswoman Jaci Parent.

A fourth rig turned over half an hour later on the 10 Freeway near the Etiwanda exit in Rancho Cucamonga, Parent said.

The fifth incident occurred at 7 a.m. on the eastbound 60 Freeway near the northbound 15 Freeway connector near the border of Rancho Cucamonga and Riverside, Parent said.

The big rig driver who slammed into the center divider of the 101 Freeway in Studio City during rush hour Tuesday morning was released with no charges filed, authorities said.

The driver, whose name was not released, was detained shortly after the accident  in the eastbound lanes of the 101 Freeway. He was treated for minor injuries. One other motorist was critically injured in the crash.

At one point after the 6 a.m. accident, traffic was backed up for miles and vehicles stuck on the freeway were diverted to the far right shoulder as workers cleaned up the wreckage. The lanes were reopened at 10 a.m., according to the California Highway Patrol.

The big rig hauling two trailers filled with sand slammed into the divider just north of the 170 Freeway split. It struck several vehicles on the westbound side before bouncing back to the eastbound lanes and landing on top of a sport utility vehicle, witnesses told investigators.

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The driver of a big rig that slammed into the center divider of the 101 Freeway in Studio City during rush hour Tuesday morning was arrested on suspicion of drunk driving, the California Highway Patrol said.

At one point after the 6 a.m. accident, traffic was backed up for miles, and vehicles stuck on the freeway were diverted to the far right shoulder as workers cleaned up the wreckage.

A SigAlert was lifted at 10 a.m., when all lanes were opened, said a CHP spokesman.

The big rig hauling two trailers filled with sand slammed into the divider just north of the 170 Freeway split. It struck several vehicles on the westbound side before bouncing back to the eastbound lanes and landing on top of a sport utility vehicle, witnesses told investigators.

The drivers of the big rig and the SUV were hospitalized, officials said.

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-- Andrew Blankstein

Photo: A California Highway Patrol officer surveys the damage after a big rig collided with a passenger vehicle. Credit: Shawn Kaye

All lanes of Highway 23 in Thousand Oaks were reopened by 10:10 a.m. Tuesday after pool-cleaning acid spilled from a truck, creating a chemical cloud that stopped traffic in both directions, authorities said.

A one-gallon container of muriatic acid fell out of a southbound truck just before 7 a.m. on the southbound lanes between Janss Road and Hillcrest Avenue, authorities said.

The northbound lanes were reopened shortly after 8 a.m., said Miguel Duarte, a spokesman for the California Highway Patrol in Moorpark.

Two southbound lanes were opened around 9:30 a.m. but two others remained closed until 10:10 a.m. as Caltrans finished the cleanup, officials said.

The Ventura County Fire Department and the CHP responded just after 7 a.m. and at one point, connectors to Highway 23 and the 101 Freeway were closed while authorities investigated the accident.

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You're inching along on the 405 Freeway. The clock is ticking. Minutes are zooming by. Here's the question: would you fork out $7 or $8 to bypass all that traffic and take a toll road instead?

In Orange County, many drivers are saying no. Christina Muscat told Times reporter Nicole Santa Cruz that instead of shaving 20 minutes off her commute from Rancho Santa Margarita to Westminster, she's pocketing the $7 instead, putting it toward gas money.

In Tuesday's story, Santa Cruz reports that recession-hit drivers are opting out of toll roads. Trips on California 73 had dropped 19% from the beginning of the economic decline in 2007 through the fiscal year ending June 2010. On the Foothill and Eastern toll roads, which include California highways 241, 261 and 133, traffic declined 17% in the same period. The 91 Express Lane has fared only slightly better.

Experts believe ridership on the toll roads will bounce back as the economy improves. Transportation officials are banking on it. Both San Francisco and Los Angeles are planning new toll roads. In Los Angeles, officials plan to charge commuters to use carpool lanes on the 110 and 10 freeways by 2013.

What do you think? Are toll roads a good idea? Would you pay money to take them? And if so, how much would you be willing to spend every day to cut time off your commute? Give us your thoughts below.

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