Freeway

A two-car collision that left an SUV on its back snarled the eastbound 101 Freeway in the San Fernando Valley on Monday afternoon. Three of five lanes were closed from Laurel Canyon Boulevard, and one person was injured,  California Highway Patrol Officer Jennifer Cassidy told The Times . The crash occurred about 1:20 p.m. west of the 134 Freeway, Cassidy said. Authorities issued an indefinite SigAlert. The overturned red SUV, which had collided with a Toyota Camry, was still on the roadway about 3 p.m. -- Adolfo Flores, Los Angeles Times

BURBANK — A gasoline spill on the Ventura (134) Freeway on Monday shut down westbound traffic for six hours after a tanker truck overturned near the Buena Vista Street exit. The spill occurred just before 8 a.m. as a result of an accident involving three cars and the tanker, California Highway Patrol Officer Francisco Villalobos said. "The collision resulted in the tanker truck losing about 100 gallons of fuel, which facilitated the closure of the westbound lanes of the 134," he said.

BURBANK ? A Glendale man died Sunday night when his car swerved off the freeway into a tree, the California Highway Patrol said Monday. Arvin Esagolian, 19, was traveling south on the Golden State (5) Freeway at about 7:45 p.m. when he lost control of his 1996 Acura just south of Scott Road in Burbank, CHP Officer Todd Workman said. The car struck a palm tree on the right shoulder, knocking it over and causing major damage to his car, he said. Esagolian, who was driving alone, was pronounced dead at the scene by the Glendale Fire Department.

Authorities have reopened a one-mile stretch of the eastbound Ventura (134) Freeway after closing it for five hours Thursday when a tanker truck overturned near the Bob Hope Drive offramp, spilling gasoline onto the road and into a nearby park. Officers diverted traffic off the freeway at Pass Avenue and other surface streets beginning about 10:20 a.m. after the tanker began gushing fuel onto the highway, according to the California Highway Patrol. The tanker was carrying about 4,500 gallons of gasoline, hundreds of gallons of which spilled out across the freeway into storm drains and down onto Johnny Carson Park, Burbank Fire Capt.

[Updated 7:08 p.m.] All lanes are now clear following a series of accidents in Burbank. A three-car crash caused a series of accidents in Burbank Monday afternoon. Burbank Fire along with Los Angeles City Fire responded to the westbound lanes of the 134 Freeway near Hollywood Way at 4:45 p.m. today, according to California Highway Patrol. An SUV involved in the collision was overturned beneath the Hollywood Way overpass. Some motorists involved were treated at a local hospital for minor injuries.

Starting Sunday, Alameda Avenue at the Golden State (5) Freeway will be closed for work on the new carpool lane project through Burbank. The closure will last through Thursday, from midnight to 6 a.m. each day to allow for bridge demolition work, according to an announcement from the city. Traffic will be diverted south to Allen Avenue, which is the freeway crossing immediately south of Alameda.  Flower Street or Lake Street are recommended to get to Allen, and motorists can expect to see traffic control and detour signs, according to the city's website.

Good morning, readers. Today is Monday, November 19. Two fatal accidents caused the closure of parts of the 5 Freeway early Monday morning . Few details are available about the first accident, which was reported at 12:06 a.m. near the Colorado Boulevard interchange. In the second accident, reported at 2:15 a.m., a car went down an embankment on the transition road that connects the eastbound 134 Freeway to the southbound 5 Freeway. Los Angeles Times An accident on the Ronald Reagan (118)

Construction on the Golden State (5) Freeway between Magnolia Boulevard and the Ventura (134) Freeway, which was stalled for six months after workers discovered unmapped utility lines, started back up this week, leaving Burbank commuters with a new round of closures. The $153-million project to construct a carpool lane in each direction of the freeway between the 134 Freeway and Magnolia Boulevard, is nearly halfway done. It's slated to be completed in the fall of 2016, officials with the California Department of Transportation said.

Police in Burbank say that a man's claim that he was shot while driving on the 5 Freeway does not appear to hold up. The driver of a silver Mercedes coupe told police that he was fired upon early Friday while driving in the northbound lanes of the 5 Freeway, KTLA-TV reported . He was apparently speeding down Hollywood Way, near the Bob Hope Airport, when airport police pulled him over and noticed he had been shot. The victim, described only as a Latino male, was taken to an area hospital with what were described as non-life-threatening injuries.

Commuters going north of Burbank on the 5 Freeway will have to contend with a series of ramp closures this week as part of a major HOV lane construction project. The California Department of Transportation has announced plans to close the ramps and lanes along the corridor through Friday. The ramps, lanes and times are listed below. The closures are part of a $121-million project to construct High Occupancy Vehicle, or carpool, lanes in each direction along the 5 Freeway between Hollywood (170)

Two burglars wound up in the hospital Wednesday morning after allegedly breaking into a car in Burbank and initiating a high-speed chase that ended with the stolen vehicle crashing on a freeway off-ramp. The Burbank Police Department responded to a possible vehicle burglary in progress on the 600 block of North Frederic Street around 5:30 a.m. when an officer spotted a Volkswagon Jetta in the neighborhood driving on the wrong side of the street with no lights on, said Lt. John Dilibert.

The big rig that caught on fire on the northbound Golden State (5) Freeway was carrying kitchen grease, which was starting to spill in the roadway on Wednesday afternoon, according to CHP's online log. Caltrans and the Burbank Fire Department reported to the scene to help clean up. As of 3:02 p.m., one freeway lane, along with the Lincoln Street off-ramp, remained closed. [Updated 3:30 p.m.] A Sigalert was issued Wednesday afternoon after a big rig caught fire on the 5 freeway near Lincoln Street in Burbank, authorities said.

All lanes and off-ramps of the northbound Golden State (5) Freeway near Lincoln Street were reopened Wednesday afternoon after emergency crews extinguished a truck fire and towed it away. The truck was hauling kitchen grease, which started to spill in the roadway when the truck caught fire, said California Highway Patrol Officer Tony Polizzi. Authorities said it was unclear if the kitchen grease caused the blaze, but the truck was not involved in a collision. Caltrans and the Burbank Fire Department reported to the scene to clean up the spill.

Construction on the Golden State (5) Freeway between Magnolia Boulevard and the Ventura (134) Freeway, which was stalled for six months after workers discovered unmapped utility lines, started back up this week, leaving Burbank commuters with a new round of closures. The $153-million project to construct a carpool lane in each direction of the freeway between the 134 Freeway and Magnolia Boulevard, is nearly halfway done. It's slated to be completed in the fall of 2016, officials with the California Department of Transportation said.

A story that may be of interest to your readers is the apparent suspension of work, or lack of progress over the last couple of months on the Golden State (5) Freeway work through Burbank. On the southbound lanes it is particularly frustrating due to the elimination of the right-side breakdown lane between roughly Burbank Boulevard and the Los Angeles River, and because of the very short merge provisions for vehicles entering the freeway from both Verdugo and Alameda avenues. The lack of any progress on the Western Avenue offramp is also puzzling, as the pavement was removed down to dirt months ago. Is Caltrans so overextended with work on other freeways that I-5 is left an orphan?

Authorities say they believe a motorcyclist who died in a crash on the 134 Freeway on Tuesday morning suffered fatal injuries when he was run over by a big rig. Ozer Ozyildirim, 42, of Los Angeles died at the scene of the collision, said Los Angeles County Coroner's Assistant Chief Ed Winter. CHP Officer Tom Miller said Ozyildirim was riding a 2012 BMW motorcycle at around 65 mph on the westbound 134 approaching the 5 Freeway, when for an “unknown reason” he veered to the right and collided with a guard rail, the Los Angeles Times reported . The collision caused the motorcycle to overturn, and Ozyildirim was ejected into the roadway, Miller said.

Drivers heading to Bob Hope Airport over the next two weekends are in for a series of freeway lanes closures and detours, authorities warned. From 11 p.m. Saturday to 9 a.m. Sunday, the southbound Golden State (5) Freeway will be closed between the Hollywood (170) Freeway interchange and Sheldon Street. Additionally, the southbound 5 Freeway on-ramps at Terra Bella Street and Osborne Street, and the westbound and eastbound State Route 118 connectors to the southbound 5 Freeway will be closed.

A seven-car pileup had drivers trapped on the northbound 5 Freeway in Santa Clarita on Friday afternoon, after a crash that authorities said began with a hit-and-run left four lanes of the roadway blocked for an hour. California Highway Patrol officials said that about 11:12 a.m. they began receiving calls concerning a multi-car pileup on the freeway north of Gavin Canyon near Calgrove Boulevard, the L.A. Times reported. Seven cars were involved in the crash, which clogged the highway between downtown L.A. and the canyon communities, officials said.

A man was killed this morning in Burbank after he jumped off the Olive Avenue overpass and was hit by an oncoming tractor-trailer on the southbound Golden State (5) Freeway, police said. The man, whose identity wasn't immediately known, was struck in No. 4 lane about 9:20 a.m., according to Burbank Police Lt. Matthew Ferguson. A Sigalert was issued at 9:43 a.m. after the three right lanes of the southbound I-5 were closed for the investigation, with traffic stopped from Hollywood Way. Police were directing traffic and stopped westbound access to Front Street, Ferguson said.

A man who was killed after he apparently jumped off the Olive Avenue overpass onto the southbound Golden State (5) Freeway in Burbank Friday morning was from Texas visiting local family members, police said. The man, identified by authorities as Raffi Roobenbakhamian, was seen climbing over the overpass railing about 9:22 a.m., where he hung from for a few seconds and then let go, according to the Burbank Police Department. He was then struck by an oncoming big rig. A Sigalert was issued at 9:43 a.m. after the three right lanes of the southbound I-5 were closed for five hours during the investigation, with traffic stopped from Hollywood Way. Police directed and stopped westbound access to Front Street, police said.