Traffic backed up for more than 12 miles early Friday in the San Fernando Valley after a crash involving two FedEx big rigs, one of which smashed through a freeway barrier and rolled onto its side, closed the southbound 5 Freeway.
Map: Traffic Page
One of the FedEx drivers suffered minor injuries, according to authorities.
The road was closed in the Sun Valley area near Sheldon Street at about 5 a.m. after a series of collisions that began with a utility truck that slammed into a stalled sport utility vehicle. One of the big rig drivers swerved to avoid the vehicles and crashed through the concrete freeway barrier, according to the California Highway Patrol.
The cab and part of the big rig's trailer ended up on the other side of the barrier on the side of the freeway near its split with the 170 Freeway.
One lane reopened at about 5:40 a.m. The remaining lanes will remain closed during the crash cleanup, which involved a fuel spill, and investigation -- expected to last "several more hours," according to the CHP.
Packages in will likely need to be removed before the damaged trailer can be pulled upright. It was not immediately clear whether freight was damaged, but a FedEx representative said customers would be notified.
Southbound 5 Freeway drivers were advised to take the southbound 170 Freeway to avoid the closure.
Photo Credit: KNBC-TV