Crime & Safety

UPDATED: Truck Catches Fire on I-5 in San Clemente, One Dies

Two lanes of traffic in both directions have been closed.

Originally posted at 1:32 p.m. March 20, 2014. Edited to add new information.

UPDATE at 8:50 p.m.: One person was killed today when a flatbed lumber truck and a pickup truck hauling a classic car on a dolly collided on the southbound San Diego (5) Freeway in San Clemente, causing the vehicles to burst into flames.

The deadly crash happened around 1 p.m. just south of the El Camino Real on-ramp, according to Capt. Steve Concialdi of the Orange County Fire Authority.

A 1984 Ford pickup truck carrying a 1950 Oldsmobile on a tow dolly was rear-ended by a flatbed lumber truck with a full load and both trucks erupted in flames, he said.

The driver of the pickup truck, believed to be a man, was trapped and pronounced dead at the scene, while the flatbed driver, who escaped and suffered minor injuries, declined to be taken to a hospital, Concialdi said.

Find out what's happening in San Clementewith free, real-time updates from Patch.

The deceased victim's body wasn't freed from the wreckage until 5:15 p.m., Concialdi said.

The crash closed all southbound lanes and traffic was being diverted at El Camino Real, he said.

Find out what's happening in San Clementewith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Traffic was backed up for miles to at least Camino Las Ramblas in Capistrano Beach, according to the California Highway Patrol.

One lane was reopened around 4:15 p.m. and the rest just before 7 p.m., said a CHP dispatcher.


UPDATE at 2:52 p.m.: One person was killed today when a flatbed lumber truck and a  pickup truck hauling a classic car on a dolly collided on the southbound San Diego (5) Freeway in San Clemente, causing the vehicles to burst into flames.

The deadly crash happened around 1 p.m. on the southbound side of the freeway just south of the El Camino Real onramp, according to Capt. Steve Concialdi of the Orange County Fire Authority.

A 1984 Ford pickup truck carrying a 1950 Oldsmobile on a tow dolly collided with a flatbed lumber truck with a full load and both trucks erupted in flames, he said.

The driver of the pickup truck was trapped and pronounced dead at the scene, while the flatbed driver, who escaped and suffered minor injuries, declined to be taken to a hospital, Concialdi said.

The crash closed all southbound lanes and traffic was being diverted at El Camino Real, he said.

The closure was expected to last for a couple of hours, said CHP Officer Aaron Rothberg.

Traffic was backed up for miles to at least Camino Las Ramblas in Capistrano Beach.

The cause of the collision was under investigation.

Original posts:

The California Highway Patrol has temporarily closed two lanes in each direction on the I-5 Freeway just south of El Camino Real onramp in San Clemente, because of a vehicle fire.

The Orange County Register tweeted that a truck carrying wood caught fire and one person has died. The CHP has confirmed the death.

The call came in at 1 p.m., according to the CHP log. Officers on scene reported the truck "fully engulfed." The SIG alert was called at 1:11 p.m.

At 2:08 p.m., the CHP reported that the southbound backup is 2 miles, while traffic is backing up on the northbound side about a mile.

--City News Service

Patch will have more details as they become available. 


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