Orange : 6-Vehicle Accident Ties Up Freeway

A tractor-trailer truck unable to make a sudden stop caused a six-vehicle accident on the Costa Mesa Freeway near Fairhaven Avenue in Orange on Tuesday morning, closing three of the four southbound lanes and tying up rush-hour traffic for two hours, authorities said.

The tractor-trailer driver, Charles Hall, 53, of San Bernardino, was taken to United Western Medical Center-Santa Ana with minor injuries, and two other people were slightly injured but did not require hospitalization, California Highway Patrol spokesman Keith Thornhill said.

Thornhill said Hall’s tractor-trailer swerved to avoid a crash and struck two cars. The truck then rear-ended a dump truck, which, in turn, hit two other vehicles, Thornhill said.