Monday morning’s deadly collision on the 405 Freeway in Long Beach was caused when a driver rear-ended another motorist at high speed, causing a five-car chain-reaction crash, according to the CHP.
Authorities said the wreck happened around 9:50 a.m. when a 58-year-old man in a 2010 Honda Fit was headed south on the 405 near Lakewood Boulevard at about 65 mph.
His speed “was too great” for the car ahead of him, which was “slowing due to slowing/stopping traffic ahead,” the CHP said in a news release.
The Fit rear-ended the car in front, causing a chain reaction that pushed forward into three more vehicles, the CHP said.
The Fit’s driver died at the scene due to the “extreme force of the initial impact,” according to the CHP.
Authorities identified the deceased driver as James Larea Hurd, Sr., a Carson resident.
Fire officials initially said another person was also hurt in the crash, but they later clarified that any such injury was minor enough that the person did not have to be taken to a hospital.