Two fatal crashes on SoCal freeway trigger massive Monday morning traffic jam

Two separate fatal crashes snarled Monday morning’s commute on the same stretch of a Southern California freeway — with the collisions occurring less than two miles apart.

The deadly wrecks happened along the westbound 60 Freeway in Chino during the morning rush, creating a massive traffic backup that stretched for miles.

The first crash was reported shortly before 6 a.m. near the Mountain Avenue exit, according to preliminary information from the California Highway Patrol’s incident log.

A motorcyclist was involved in the crash and ended up in the freeway lanes. A SigAlert was issued after a death was reported, and the coroner’s office was called to the scene.

Then, roughly 40 minutes later, another fatal crash was reported farther west near Central Avenue.

That collision, reported at about 6:36 a.m., involved a semitruck and a Lexus, according to the CHP incident log.

The log states that the semitruck “drove up the embankment” before striking the Lexus.

One of the drivers was taken to a hospital and later died, Sky5 reported.

It was not immediately clear which vehicle that person was driving.

The two crashes were separated by only about a mile, with Mountain Avenue and Central Avenue serving as consecutive exits along the westbound freeway.

By around 9 a.m., the impact on traffic was still being felt, with vehicles backed up for miles as crews continued working at the crash scenes.

Three lanes were closed near Mountain Avenue as authorities investigated the motorcycle crash, while both lanes of the westbound 60 Freeway on-ramp from Central Avenue were closed because of the second collision.

Motorists were urged to avoid the area as the investigations and closures continued Monday morning.

The California Post has reached out to CHP for comment.

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