Multiple vehicles crash in foggy SoCal pass
SAN BERNARDINO ( AP) — Multiple vehicles collided in dense fog Wednesday on Interstate 15 in Southern California’s Cajon Pass, injuring at least 17 people, authorities said. As many as 20 vehicles were involved in the late-morning collision in the southbound lanes, said Terri Kasinga, a district spokeswoman for the California Department of Transportation.
The San Bernardino County Fire Department tweeted that two patients were transported to hospitals and 15 others had minor injuries. The department added that numerous drivers and vehicle occupants declined treatment.
The pass about 60 miles east of Los Angeles runs between the San Bernardino and San Gabriel mountain ranges and rises to an elevation of nearly 3,800 feet. Southern California has been experiencing a seasonal deep intrusion of ocean air known as “May gray” that has brought low clouds, fog, drizzle and even rain. The damp overcast typically burns off or retreats as the day heats up, but some days it has stuck around.
“We are firmly in the grips of a deep May gray marine layer,” the National Weather Service said Wednesday afternoon as temperatures in some areas were down by as much as 30 degrees from a day earlier.
“We have one more day of this gloom,” the forecast said. A major warming trend is expected to begin Friday, sending some coastal temperatures away from the beaches into the 80s while the valleys reach the 90s. The marine layer — which will then be called “June Gloom” — will return next week but is not expected to be as severe.