Rush hour traffic snarled by fatal crashes closing 5, 210 freeways

Morning rush hour traffic in the eastern San Fernando Valley is disrupted by two deadly incidents early Friday that left freeway lanes closed.

All southbound lanes on Freeway 5 were closed after two people were killed in an accident involving a large drill.

The collision was reported around 5:05 a.m. in Sun Valley, California Highway Patrol Officer Moises Marroquin said. KABC-TV Channel 7 reported that according to a CHP incident log, a fire broke out when the large oil rig struck a stuck white van. Firefighters extinguished the flames.

Tke CHP could not confirm the details of the crash other than to say it was a “double fatality,” Marroquin said.

Southbound traffic will be diverted onto the southbound 170 Freeway at Sun Valley, Marroquin said. It was not estimated when the lanes would reopen.

About five miles north, all lanes of the eastbound 210 freeway near Hubbard Street in Sylmar are also closed until further notice due to a fatal pedestrian accident.

Caltrans traffic control maps showed traffic from the 210 to freeways 5 and 14 in the Santa Clarita Valley.