A big-rig truck tipped onto its side and caught on fire after crashing into a car on the southbound 405 Freeway at the 710 Freeway connector road, according to authorities.
The wreck blocked part of the 405 and all of the transition lane, causing an estimated 2-hour shut-down Tuesday morning, authorities reported.
At around 11:34 a.m., firefighters arrived on scene and contained the fire to the truck’s cab. About 20 gallons of diesel leaked from the truck’s fuel tank into the dirt, but the incident was quickly under control, Long Beach Fire Department spokesperson Jake Heflin said.
The trucker was driving around 55 mph on the southbound 405 Freeway preparing to enter the southbound 710 Freeway, saw traffic stopping on the onramp and hit the brakes, which caused his truck’s cab portion to detach from the container and fall into the freeway’s hillside embankment, CHP spokesperson Simeon Yarbrough said.
The truck also hit the car in front of it, injuring the driver, who was taken to a local hospital, Yarbrough said.
The fire from the truck didn’t reach the nearby brush, Heflin added.