Overturned Big Rig Carrying Carnival Ride Shuts Down 605 Freeway

LONG BEACH, CA — A big rig carrying a large carnival ride crashed and overturned on the southbound San Gabriel River (605) Freeway in Long Beach, triggering an hours-long freeway closure.

The traffic nightmare began at about 1:10 a.m. near the Willow Street offramp where a Toyota Corolla crashed into the big rig, according to the California Highway Patrol. The crash forced the closure of all southbound lanes for hours. The lanes are not expected to reopen until 9:15 a.m. according to the CHP.

"As a result of the collision, the big rig overturned and impacted the guardrail, which caused the engine to become dislodged from the engine compartment of the big rig," CHP Sgt. Anthony Soriano told reporters at the scene. ``A BMW was traveling in the No. 2 or 3 lane and impacted the engine that was in the roadway.

The drivers of both cars were taken to a hospital with minor injuries, the CHP reported. The big rig driver was not hurt.

An Orange County Fire Authority official told a news photographer at the scene a hazardous materials team was brought in to clean up spilled gasoline and oil and the freeway would be closed until the cleanup was complete. The accident site was near the Long Beach/Los Alamitos border, prompting an OCFA response.

Traffic was being diverted off the freeway at Carson Street.

City News Service and Patch Staffer Paige Austin contributed to this report.