Slippery Substance Causes Sticky Mess On 101 Freeway
SHERMAN OAKS (CBSLA.com) — An unknown slippery substance led to numerous crashes and a lot of stuck cars on the 101 Freeway at the 405 on Sunday morning.
Reports of crashes occurring in both directions on the 101, as well as the transition lanes from the northbound 405, began coming in just after 8 a.m., according to the California Highway Patrol. After several cars had spun out and crashed, hundreds of others had nowhere to go. As the backup built, some drivers turned around into oncoming traffic in an attempt to reach other ramps and leave the freeway, CHP officers reported.
A CHP officer told KNX 1070 that the substance may have been something applied to the freeway by Caltrans workers overnight. The northbound 405 was scheduled to be closed early Sunday morning for work on the 101 bridge above the freeway. Caltrans officials were not immediately available for comment.
No injuries were reported in the crashes, CHP Officer Tony Polizzi told City News Service.
Caltrans came to the scene and applied an absorbent in an attempt to soak up the substance at 9:41 a.m., and all lanes were reported to have reopened by noon.
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