A traffic collision involving two big rigs occurred north of Pyramid Lake on the northbound Interstate 5 on Thursday afternoon, resulting in one person being trapped, then extricated and transported to a local hospital, according to L.A. County Fire Department officials.
Multiple engines responded to the scene, which was dubbed the Smokey incident due to its proximity to Smokey Bear Road.
According to Fred Fielding, spokesman for the L.A. County Fire Department, additional units were requested but more details were not immediately available. The units were dispatched at 1:09 p.m. and were at the scene at 1:19 p.m., he said.
Radio dispatch traffic indicated at approximately 1:55 p.m. that the two big rigs were entangled and would have to be separated before one of the trapped occupants could be extricated.
Geovanni Sanchez, a spokesman for the Fire Department, confirmed that the trapped individual had been extricated at the time of this story’s publication.
Two lanes of the northbound side of the freeway were blocked due to the incident, according to Officer Josh Greengard, spokesman for the California Highway Patrol Newhall-area Office. He added that the No. 1 lane on the far left was open.
The lanes were fully opened at 5:01 p.m., according to the Caltrans QuickMap website.
According to SigAlert.com, traffic was backed up approximately a mile near Pyramid Lake and delays of up to one hour were to be expected during the closure.
This is a breaking news story and will be updated as more information becomes available.
