A crash involving two big rigs turned a Southern California freeway into a sprawling mess Wednesday morning, leaving one truck on its side and cargo scattered across the pavement.

The collision happened shortly before 11 a.m. on Aug. 19 on the westbound 210 Freeway near Pennsylvania Avenue in the La Crescenta area. Aerial video from KTLA showed two badly damaged tractor-trailers, with boxes and other cargo covering multiple lanes.

The wreck was more serious than the sea of packages initially suggested. CBS Los Angeles reported that a Mercedes-Benz sedan was also involved and became wedged beneath the trailer of the overturned semi. Three people were taken to nearby hospitals, although their conditions were not immediately released.

The crash also landed in the middle of an already miserable morning on the 210. Another big rig had caught fire farther west near Sunland Boulevard less than two hours earlier, shutting down lanes and creating a separate traffic backup that drivers would encounter after making it through the later wreck.

One Big Rig Ended Up On Its Side

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The California Highway Patrol received reports of the collision around 10:55 a.m. near Pennsylvania Avenue. One of the big rigs overturned, dumping much of its load across the westbound freeway.

CBS Los Angeles reported that the Mercedes became wedged underneath the trailer when the semi overturned. The Los Angeles County Fire Department transported three people to hospitals following the collision.

There was some conflicting early information about the number of people hospitalized. ABC7 later reported that one person was transported in unknown condition, citing the Los Angeles County Fire Department, while CBS Los Angeles and MyNewsLA reported three people were hospitalized.

All westbound lanes were initially closed, with some vehicles directed through the center divider before traffic was diverted toward State Route 2. The closure lasted far longer than the initial aerial reports could predict. ABC7 reported that the westbound freeway remained closed for more than 12 hours, with all lanes finally reopening around 1 a.m. Thursday. Eastbound traffic was not affected.

The cause of the collision remains under investigation.

Drivers Had Another Problem Waiting Ahead

Getting past the overturned truck didn’t necessarily mean escaping the traffic.

At about 9:10 a.m., less than two hours before the collision near Pennsylvania Avenue, another big rig caught fire on the westbound 210 near Sunland Boulevard. The truck was on the right shoulder when it became engulfed in flames, according to separate reports from ABC7 and MyNewsLA.

The flames spread from the truck into nearby vegetation. MyNewsLA reported that the fire reached grass and brush along the freeway, while CBS Los Angeles reported firefighters contained a roughly half-acre fire on the hillside.

That incident closed all westbound lanes and backed traffic up for miles. Three lanes reopened around 12:45 p.m., according to MyNewsLA, but by then the later big-rig collision had already shut down the freeway farther east.

One detail is worth clearing up because of the confusion of live breaking-news coverage. The earlier incident has sometimes been described as another crash, but ABC7 reported the truck was engulfed in flames on the shoulder, and local outlet Crescenta Valley Weekly reported that the semi had pulled over before it caught fire. There is no indication in those reports that it collided with another vehicle.

The 210 Had People Talking

People watching KTLA’s aerial coverage had plenty to say about the scene and the prospect of getting through two major backups on the same stretch of freeway.

One commenter dubbed the area the “Bermuda Triangle of the Crescenta Valley.”

Another wasn’t convinced by the suggestion that drivers try the 2, 134, or 5 to escape the mess, predicting those alternate routes would only get worse as traffic spilled off the 210.

The cargo scattered across the freeway also inspired one viewer to spot an opportunity in the chaos: “Hey… that’s MY package I’ve been waiting for.”

For anyone actually sitting in the backup, however, the delay was no joke. The overturned truck required a lengthy cleanup, and the westbound 210 did not fully reopen until early Thursday morning, more than 12 hours after the crash.

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