Fiery, deadly wreck snarls Interstate 5 in Los Angeles

LOS ANGELES – A fiery collision Tuesday involving two big trucks and several smaller vehicles killed one person and injured nine others while triggering a massive traffic jam on Interstate 5 just north of downtown Los Angeles.

There were conflicting reports on whether one or more people were unaccounted for after the late morning crash, said Brian Humphrey, a Fire Department spokesman.

Flames initially raged through the wreckage strewn across the southbound lanes. There were also damaged cars on the other side of the divided freeway.

Paramedics triaged the injured and took them away in ambulances.

Most of one tractor-trailer and the cab of a tanker truck were obliterated by the time Los Angeles and suburban Glendale firefighters extinguished the fire.

A small sedan was left wedged under the remains of the big-rig trailer and a pickup truck was perched partially atop the center divider wall. Other vehicles were also involved.

There was no immediate indication of what caused the wreck on a section of I-5 dubbed the Golden State Freeway between landmark Griffith Park and the Los Angeles River.

Interstate 5 is part of web of interconnected freeways and is a corridor for long-distance trucking and travel as well as heavy commuter traffic.