Dozens of vehicles involved in California highway pileup

The 63-vehicle pileup sent 15 people to hospitals

February 14, 2000
Web posted at: 5:00 p.m. EST (2200 GMT)

From staff reports

SAN BERNARDINO, California (CNN) -- A section of Interstate 15, about 60 miles east of Los Angeles near the Cajon Summit, is littered with wreckage after a massive highway pileup involving 63 vehicles, according to police.

Fifteen people were taken to hospitals. Four of the injuries were described as life-threatening, and five were severe, said Randy Young of the California Highway Patrol.

Motorists blamed the morning rush hour pileup on Monday's heavy fog and slippery road conditions.

"I have a good guardian angel," said Tina Nunez, who was on her way to work when she hit the fog. "I knew I was in trouble when I didn't see any brake lights of people stopping."

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Unable to stop on the slick roadway, she wove through an obstacle course of damaged vehicles and finally steered her Volkswagen into the rear of a semi-truck to avoid hitting people on the roadway. "I didn't know if I was going to live or die," she said.

When she got out of her car, "a woman behind me started crying and hugging me," said Nunez. "That made me nervous. That's when I started shaking and getting panicky."

"We ran into a blanket of fog, and the end result is what you're looking at," said a truck driver as he surveyed the freeway strewn with wreckage.

The crash forced traffic to halt in the southbound lane.

"I was coming down here on the fast lane," said Glenn Hannah, who was driving his wife's car, which she had bought over the weekend. "I just did get stopped ... you think, `All right, I finally stopped in time.' And then, `Wham!'"

A car slammed into the rear of Hannah's car, pushing his vehicle into the rear of a pickup truck in front of him.

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December 31, 1998

California Department of Transportation
California Highway Patrol
San Bernardino Police Department
CHP Traffic Incident Information Page

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