60 East reopens in Diamond Bar after fatal accident

DIAMOND BAR, Calif. (KABC) -- Eastbound lanes of the 60 Freeway reopened eight hours after a fatal accident involving three vehicles in Diamond Bar on Friday.

The last semi truck was towed away just after 7 p.m.

California Highway Patrol officers say a big rig and a U-Haul truck got into a minor accident in the eastbound lanes near Diamond Bar Boulevard just after 11 a.m. Both vehicles pulled to the shoulder, and the drivers got out and stood between their vehicles to exchange information. Then, a third vehicle, an 18-wheeler, rammed into the parked big rig.

"That parked big rig lurched forward and crushed the people that were standing in between the two big rigs," said CHP Officer Kerri Rivas.

The driver of the U-Haul truck was declared dead at the scene. The driver of the parked big rig was taken to County-USC Medical Center with critical injuries. The driver of the third vehicle was taken to a local hospital with minor injuries. A passenger from the U-Haul truck was also struck by the big rig and was hospitalized in unknown condition.

One of the big rigs was loaded with bananas, which littered the road after the wreck. Cleanup crews were busy trying to scoop up the bananas.

Traffic was jammed for miles in both directions of the freeway due to the accident. Stuck drivers were seen getting out of their vehicles walking on the freeway to find out what happened. CHP was able to open the carpool lane just before 2 p.m. to let stuck drivers through, then closed it again.

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