All lanes of southbound Interstate 5 along Camp Pendleton were closed early Thursday at Las Pulgas Road after a chain-reaction crash involving multiple vehicles left three people dead, the California Highway Patrol said.
The freeway closure created a massive traffic jam, backing up vehicles coming from Orange County, and also slowed traffic heading north on I-5. The CHP anticipates officers will reopen the southbound lanes by 9 a.m. after the initial traffic investigation is concluded, CHP Officer Hunter Gerber said.
The crash occurred shortly after 3 a.m. when a driver in a Jeep Wrangler heading south on I-5 veered off the freeway and slammed into the guardrail just south of Las Pulgas Road. The vehicle then came back into the southbound lanes where it was struck by a Mercedes-Benz Sprinter van that overturned, Gerber said.
Motorists who called 911 told dispatchers that the vehicle burst into flames, according to a CHP online log.Three people were confirmed dead in the crash, Gerber said. Five others were transported to hospitals, two with life-threatening injuries, Gerber said. “Right now traffic is backed up well into Orange County,” Gerber said. “Northbound is backed up into Oceanside and Carlsbad… We are asking everybody to avoid the area if they are able to, and to use alternative routes.