Traffic was jammed on the 405 Freeway through the Santa Ana area after a small plane crashed Friday morning on the southbound roadway, initially prompting the full closure of the heavily trafficked freeway ahead of the Fourth of July holiday weekend.
Vehicles attempted to turn around to get off the 405 after a small plane crashed near John Wayne Airport, snarling Orange County traffic on June 30, 2017. (Credit: KTLA)
The 405 was closed in both directions immediately after the plane crashed at approximately 9:35 a.m., as it was headed back to John Wayne Airport to make an emergency landing.
Two people in the plane were hospitalized. No other injuries were reported, although the plane may have hit four to six vehicles, according to Caltrans.
Northbound lanes were largely reopened following the temporary closure; on the other side of the freeway, vehicles were getting by on the left shoulder as of noon, Sky5 aerial video showed.
“SB 405 is closed indefinitely except for HOV lane as investigation into plane crash continues. NB 405 HOV lane also closed,” Caltrans District 12 tweeted around 11:30 a.m., nearly two hours after the crash.
However, Caltrans tweeted a short time later that the entire southbound was entirely shut down; the closure was expected to last at least another four hours, the agency said.
A hard closure was in effect on the southbound 405 at State Route 73, in the Costa Mesa area, according to Caltrans District 12.
Drivers headed southbound are urged to take the 73 or the 55 Freeway, Caltrans said. Another alternate to avoid the closed stretch of freeway was to take State Route 22 to Interstate 5.
“CHP incident commander Ryan Shackleford says southbound 405 closure will be for ‘a long time’ for investigation into plane crash,” Caltrans tweeted.
The wreckage of a plane that crashed on the 405 Freeway in Santa Ana on June 30, 2017, is shown. (Credit: KTLA)
The fiery wreckage from the plane remained on the southbound freeway near the MacArthur Boulevard exit, and will likely not be removed until federal investigators can examine it. Authorities did not specify a time frame for when that would happen.
“Right now this aircraft’s home is going to be here on the southbound 405 … for a little while,” said Orange County Fire Authority Capt. Larry Kurtz.
A piece of the plane landed in the northbound car pool, and Caltrans crews are working to assess the damage it caused to the pavement and median.
Traffic was snarled in southbound lanes past the 55 Freeway, Google Traffic Maps showed. Traffic was also jammed on the northbound side of the freeway, through the back up did not extend as far.
The 55 and 73 in the area also showed significant traffic in the area, according to the traffic map.
Sky5 video over the scene showed some cars turning around on the 405 as traffic slowed to a crawl.
Check back for updates on this developing story.
from KTLA http://ift.tt/2t9rCa8
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