Freeway crawl

Deepa Bharath

NEWPORT BEACH -- A rush-hour collision between a big rig and van on

the Corona del Mar Freeway on Thursday afternoon left three people

injured and closed down all southbound lanes, backing up traffic for

hours, officials said.

The vehicles, which were traveling on the southbound lanes near

MacArthur Boulevard about 4:45 p.m., crashed into each other, said

California Highway Patrol Officer Katrina Lundgren.

The collision was initially thought to have been fatal, but officers

said nobody died in the crash.

One person who was seriously injured in the crash was taken to Mission

Hospital in Mission Viejo, said Newport Beach Fire Capt. John Blauer.

“That person seemed to have suffered some trauma,” he said.

Two others, who were not as seriously injured, were taken to Hoag

Hospital and Irvine Medical Center, respectively.

The identities and condition of the injured were not released as of

Thursday night.

Rush-hour drivers suffered for hours, with all southbound lanes and

one northbound lane closed after the incident, which left both the van

and the big rig overturned, Lundgren said.

A SigAlert was issued about 4 p.m. and lasted more than four hours.

“It’s not just clearing out everything, but also repairing the road,”

Lundgren said.

The accident left a large, deep gash on the southbound lanes of the

freeway about 4 feet by 18 inches and about 8 inches deep, she said.

Lundgren said Caltrans workers had started the repair work about an

hour after the accident occurred.

* Deepa Bharath covers public safety and courts. She may be reached at

(949) 574-4226 or by e-mail at o7 [email protected] .