INCIDENT CLEARED—ALL LANES OPEN—Collisions involving 40 to 50 vehicles close southbound I-5 at Frazier Mountain Park Road

  • A little boy and reportedly 10 others were taken by helicopter and ambulance to area hospitals for medical aid after a multi-car crash on the southbound Grapevine between the Frazier Park and Gorman exit. [Jeff Zimmerman photo]

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    A little boy and reportedly 10 others were taken by helicopter and ambulance to area hospitals for medical aid after a multi-car crash on the southbound Grapevine between the Frazier Park and Gorman exit. [Jeff Zimmerman photo]

  • Overturned vehicles on I-5 south just north of Gorman. [photo by CHP]

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    Overturned vehicles on I-5 south just north of Gorman. [photo by CHP]

  • Overturned vehicles on southbound Interstate 5 just north of Gorman. [photo by CHP]

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    Overturned vehicles on southbound Interstate 5 just north of Gorman. [photo by CHP]

  • A CHP officer and Kern County Sheriff's Deputy Gabriel Gonzalez direct traffic to Ralphs Ranch Road south. [photo by Gary Meyer, The Mountain Enterprise]

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    A CHP officer and Kern County Sheriff's Deputy Gabriel Gonzalez direct traffic to Ralphs Ranch Road south. [photo by Gary Meyer, The Mountain Enterprise]

LEBEC, CA (Saturday, March 23, 2019 at 6:54 p.m.)—All lanes are open from Grapevine through Gorman. Of the three horses involved in the collisions, two were taken to Bakersfield Veterinary Hospital, according to Cat Whitelock, a veterinary technician at Mountain Aire Veterinary Hospital in Lebec. One horse was fatally injured in the accident.

LEBEC, CA (Saturday, March 23, 2019 at 4:23 p.m.)—Four or five ambulance units were called to the incident for injuries ranging from minor to critical. Most injuries have since been downgraded to minor. Motorists need to exit the roadway if possible to avoid the hazards of tule fog obscuring visibility on the roadway. If at all possible, wait. Do not drive in these heavy fogs. The risk is too great.

LEBEC, CA (Saturday, March 23, 2019 at 4:17 p.m.)—Motorists are being directed to Ralphs Ranch Road south into Gorman, then to take the southbound onramp in Gorman.

LEBEC, CA (Saturday, March 23, 2019 at 4:14 p.m.)—A sheriff’s deputy estimated that southbound I-5 could be closed until about 6 p.m. There was heavy fog in the area of Lebec, and foggy conditions were reported by a CHP officer at the scene of the accident.

LEBEC, CA (Saturday, March 23, 2019 at 3:59 p.m.)—A traffic collision has closed Interstate 5 southbound between Frazier Mountain Park Road and Gorman School Road. One CHP report has approximately 30 vehicles needing to be towed with 40 to 50 vehicles involved. Reports include a 3-year-old boy injured.

This is part of the March 22, 2019 online edition of The Mountain Enterprise.

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