Wrong-Way Crash Closes Down 118 Fwy

Joe Crawford (artlung) captures this image of last night's fiery crash on his cell phone | Via Flickr CC License

Update: The westbound 118 freeway should be open by now.

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It was 11:35 p.m. last night when 911 calls started coming into dispatchers. California Highway Patrol and the Los Angeles Fire Department headed out to the westbound 118 Freeway east of Reseda Blvd. in Porter Ranch to find a tractor-trailer truck on fire and two other vehicles involved.

Police are not sure which car was going the wrong way, but the damage was done, one male drive died and two others had minor injuries. "Before emergency crews arrived, explosions rocked the burning trailer truck and fire raced through brush on the northern embankment," reported the LA Times. "Dozens of motorists, who moments before had attempted to pass the burning wreck, turned around and fled driving the wrong way on the freeway to escape."

The eastbound lanes of the 118 were opened earlier this morning, but westbound lanes remained closed at least past 6 a.m. while investigators waited to take aerial photos of the scene.

Also: Two were killed, three injured, in a solo car crash in Long Beach at the northbound North Lakewood Boulevard offramp last night.

Additionally, a SigAlert was issued at 7:43 a.m. this morning in Orange County after a multi-car traffic collision on the southbound 5 freeway near Brookhurst Street left at least one vehicle overturned and blocking car pool lanes.