CHP Releases Details of Fatal 110 Freeway Crash

The California Highway Patrol has released its official report of a fatal car crash on the southbound 110 freeway near the York Boulevard exit that resulted in the death of an infant passenger on Friday evening.

The report indicates that the driver of the vehicle had pulled over in lane three of the congested freeway during rush hour because of a flat tire on the front passenger side:

"[The driver of the second vehicle] collided with the rear of the first vehicle. This caused [the first vehicle] to catch on fire and eventually become fully engulfed. The 1-year-old passenger of [the first vehicle] became trapped in her car seat as a result of the collision. Attempts were made by the involved parties and witnesses to remove the child from the vehicle but they were overcome by the fire and unsuccessful in their attempts. The child sustained fatal injuries."

According to CHP's so-called “incident report,” drugs or alcohol were "not a factor" in the incident and no arrests were made.

City News Service reported that several residents who live near the historic Arroyo Seco Parkway—the nation’s first freeway that was built in 1940 and has long been considered narrow and outdated—attempted to rescue the toddler, who was evidently trapped in the car.

One of the neighbors who attempted to save the child, identified as 11-month-old Leiana Ramirez, was Jair Aguirre. A 26-year-old community college student who lives in the neighborhood, Aguirre told the Los Angeles Times that he and three other neighborhood residents attempted to fight the fire with a water hose and buckets.

Aguirre also told the Times that he tried to remove the infant from the car after smashing the window with a baseball bat, but was burned and driven back by the growing flames inside the car.

The toddler killed in the crash was "barely 11 months" old, according to an official at the Los Angeles County Coroner's Office on Saturday. (It was previously reported that the victim was two years old.)

"The car caught fire immediately and the mother or other motorists could not get close enough to rescue the child," said South Pasadena Police Chief Joseph Payne. "The mother was burned on the hands and arms. The car was fully engulfed when we arrived on scene."

Matthew Spence, a spokesman for the Los Angeles Fire Department, said that "multiple patients were still being assessed" to determine the severity of their injuries resulting from the mishap.

The LAFD first sent an e-mail alert about the accident in the Highland Park area at 5:40 p.m.—and the CHP reports that police were still on the scene at around 7:30 p.m. Friday. A SigAlert was issued for three southbound lanes, reported the Pasadena Star-News.

A stretch of the winding, three-lane freeway was closed in the southbound direction toward the Los Angeles harbor while the crash was under investigation, according to the CHP.

Additional reading: See attached pdf of the California Department of Transportation's environmental impact report on the 110 freeway.