Two people sustained injuries as a fiery big rig crashed on the westbound side of the freeway near Monte Vista Avenue at around 11 PM on Tuesday, January 17, 2012. The food distribution truck was in flames which prompted authorities to close 10 Freeway in Montclair. According to reports, 2 other cars were involved in the automobile accident, a Nissan and a Mercedes. The food truck driver was among one of those who was injured and was brought to Los Angeles County USC Medical Center. The other injured individual was brought to Loma Linda University Medical Center. No further information was released regarding the condition and the extent of injury of the two casualties involved in the car crash upon transport to the hospital.
Investigations are still ongoing but according to authorities, it appears that the driver of the Mercedes may have lost control of the vehicle and hit the big rig. This led the big rig to swerve, hitting the Nissan. The big rig then crashed into the center divider of San Bernardino (10) Freeway near the Monte Vista exit and later burst into flames. Injured individuals were airlifted by firefighters and were taken into the hospitals. The freeway was also closed in order to repair the smashed center divider as well as clean the spilled fuel brought about by the automobile accident.
The automobile accident proved to be a nightmare for the morning commuters as traffic stretched up for miles. Cleanup crews worked throughout the night and the lanes were eventually opened at around 6:24 A.M, Wednesday. At one point, no cars were allowed to enter the lanes in both directions between Monte Avenue and Indian Hill Boulevard. The eastbound part was reopened into the public before 6 in the morning and the westbound side reopened a little after half an hour. Until now, investigations are still being done by different agencies to know what exactly caused the automobile accident. As for the injured individuals, no further reports have been made to date.
