A freeway crash scene in Southern California somehow became the site of two more crashes before sunrise Sunday, with three separate drivers ultimately arrested on suspicion of DUI.
The sequence unfolded early Sept. 27 on State Route 118 near Tapo Canyon Road in Simi Valley. One Ventura County firefighter was struck while working at the scene and taken to a trauma center with what the fire department described as significant injuries.
California Highway Patrol spokesperson Ryan Ayers told the Ventura County Star that the original collision happened around 2:20 a.m., when a driver headed east in the westbound lanes collided with another vehicle. The wrong-way vehicle was described in that account as an SUV.
Crews responded, CHP placed flares to divert traffic around the wreck, and firefighters began working the scene. Less than 40 minutes later, another motorist drove into the protected area. That was only the second of three suspected DUI crashes authorities would deal with there that morning.
Into The Flares
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At about 2:59 a.m., the second driver passed the emergency flares and crashed into the active scene, KTLA reported.
The vehicle struck the firefighter and a Ventura County fire engine. KTLA’s early broadcast identified the vehicle as a Tesla and showed the damaged car alongside Engine 46.
The firefighter was transported to a local trauma center. A Ventura County Fire Department release republished by Edhat confirmed the firefighter had suffered significant injuries but did not disclose their nature.
Ayers told the Ventura County Star that the motorist who entered the flare pattern was arrested on suspicion of DUI. The driver was not reported injured.
Then Another
The scene was still active several hours later.
At about 5:40 a.m., a third motorist drove through traffic-control cones and flares and entered the crash area, according to Ayers. That driver crashed as well.
CHP arrested that motorist on suspicion of DUI too.
That brought the morning’s total to three separate suspected DUI arrests: the driver involved in the initial wrong-way collision, the driver accused of entering the flare-protected scene and striking the firefighter and fire engine, and the third driver who crashed into the same scene hours later.
The wrong-way driver was also transported to a hospital after complaining of pain, according to the Ventura County Star account.
Three Arrests
No identities had been released in the reporting available Sunday morning, and an arrest on suspicion of DUI is not a conviction.
The extraordinary sequence came just weeks after the California Highway Patrol again warned about impaired driving ahead of Labor Day. CHP says its officers focus on removing drivers impaired by alcohol, drugs, or a combination of substances from California roads.
The agency was still investigating the Simi Valley crashes Sunday.