FIERY FUEL TRUCK CRASH KILLS 2
HAWTHORNE (US): A fuel tanker truck crashed and burned early Friday on a freeway near Los Angeles International Airport, killing two people and causing a massive traffic jam that forced travelers to abandon their vehicles and walk off the freeway with their luggage, authorities said.
The California Highway Patrol received reports of the crash involving the double-tanker truck and an SUV followed by a fireball on the westbound side of Interstate 105 in suburban Hawthorne shortly after 5 a.m. Both vehicles' drivers were killed.
Authorities initially worried they might find more bodies in the twisted and burned wreckage, but none were found.
The pre-dawn crash turned the morning commute into chaos on the south side of the Los Angeles metropolitan area. Both sides of the freeway and a Metro light rail commuter line that runs down the middle of the highway were shut down
as authorities let the fire burn itself out.
Some motorists got out of their cars and others tried to drive off the freeway by using on-ramps as exits.
Shortly after 6 a.m., the California Highway Patrol's online incident log reported that people were abandoning vehicles, taking luggage and jumping over fences alongside the freeway. It is a major southern approach to the airport.
An unidentified travel-
ler showed KTTV where she climbed a steep embankment and over a tall fence to get off the freeway. KTTV reported she missed her flight but was assured she would be rebooked.
Undamaged eastbound
lanes reopened after nearly three hours, while emergency work continued on the westbound side for more than 12 hours. The westbound lanes finally reopened shortly before 8 p.m. The commuter rail line remained closed.