50-Vehicle Pile up Injures 15 people

June 10, 2009

San Bernardino – A 50-vehicle pile up in Interstate 15 near the summit of Cajun Pass on the foggy mountain highway injures at least 15 people and scattered debris for half a mile early Wednesday morning.

Officers said that the chain reaction began when two tractor-trailer rigs crashed in the northbound lane.

San Bernardino County Fire Dispatch Supervisor Tom Barnes said that 10 people were brought to the hospital while paramedics assessed 5 more who declined medical treatment.

The Cajon Pass rises to about 4,100 feet in the San Bernardino Mountains just about 45 miles east of Los Angeles. It carries Interstate 15 traffic between Southern California cities, Mojave Desert cities and Las Vegas.

Southern California is currently experiencing “June gloom” weather which is a deep marine layer that pushes inland from the ocean and brings low clouds, fogs and drizzle.

Because of the accident, the northbound traffic was stalled at the bottom of the southern side of the pass.