A CHP motorcycle officer and at least three others were injured in a collision on the 10 freeway in Los Angeles on Thursday morning, causing major traffic delays, authorities said.
Authorities described the patients’ injuries as non-life-threatening. All were expected to survive.
The CHP officer responded to the crash just before 10 a.m. between a Toyota Prius and a second vehicle on the fast lane of the westbound side of the freeway near the Normandie Avenue exit, which runs north into Koreatown and south into South Los Angeles, said CHP Officer Amber Wright.
As a tow truck driver loaded the stranded Prius onto a tow truck, the officer stood to direct oncoming traffic away from the fast lane, Wright said.
Around 10:30 a.m., a Nissan Altima trying to bypass traffic drove along the left shoulder, near the center divider, and collided with the CHP officer’s motorcycle, injuring both the officer and the truck operator, Wright said.
The driver of the Altima attempted to run away, but bystanders intervened, stopping the driver from leaving, Wright said.
Paramedics hospitalized the CHP officer, tow truck operator, the driver and at least two passengers of the Altima. Wright said all patients sustained non-life-threatening injuries and were expected to survive.
The crash had forced several closures along the freeway causing heavy traffic congestion in the area. The CHP asked drivers to avoid the area, if possible.
The 110 south to 10 west and the 110 north to 10 west interchanges remained closed into Thursday afternoon, Wright said. The Hoover Street and Vermont Avenue onramps onto the 10 west were reopened.