Man, Woman Killed in Van, Truck Accident on 5 Freeway in Los Angeles, CA
Los Angeles, CA -- February 17, 2023, a man and a woman were killed due to an accident where a semi-truck hit a van on the 5 Freeway.
Investigators said that the accident happened at around 5:20 a.m. along southbound lanes of the freeway in the Sun Valley area near the 170 Freeway.
According to officials, an Access Services van going southbound on I-5 somehow became disabled. While stalled, a semi-truck crashed into the van, causing it to catch fire.
Due to the collision, the man and woman in the van sustained fatal injuries. No one else was reportedly injured. The factors leading up to the incident are still under investigation.
At 5:20 a.m., it's understandable that visibility is going to be an issue. Depending on the nature of the van's issues which led to it stopping on the freeway, this truck driver may simply have been in the wrong place at the wrong time. But of course, it's always crucial to let the evidence speak for itself.
Case in point, I handled a situation a while back where a truck driver said they hit a disabled car because it was all but invisible on the dark highway. Through court orders, however, we were able to obtain video evidence that completely refuted that. What actually happened was the truck driver was watching shows on his tablet and failed to see the clearly-visible emergency lights of the victim's car ahead. He only looked up at the last second, but it was too late, and a family's life was turned upside down as a result.
I'm not saying that happened here, of course, but it's important that people understand these early reports aren't likely to give any clear answers. It takes more thorough investigations than that, and I can only hope authorities are working right now to get answers for the victims' loved ones.
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