One Killed in Five-Vehicle Crash on 605 Freeway in Cerritos

CERRITOS, CA – One person died early Tuesday in a five-vehicle collision on the northbound San Gabriel River Freeway in Cerritos after an SUV struck vehicles stopped near an earlier crash. The initial collision timeline placed the first impact shortly after 12:30 a.m. on Oct. 6, just south of the Artesia Freeway interchange.

Three vehicles were reportedly sitting in the left lane after the first collision. A tow truck had arrived, and its operator was working near the stopped vehicles when a gold Cadillac SUV approached at high speed and struck the crash scene. One person was trapped in a vehicle and died. Authorities had not identified which vehicle the person occupied or released information about any other injuries.

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Video Captured the Secondary Impact

A recording from the scene showed the Cadillac hit a sedan that was being towed. The scene video showed sparks and smoke as the vehicles collided, while the tow operator ran away from the debris. The footage also showed another vehicle down an embankment and a man trying to get out.

The recording placed the tow operator in the traffic lanes before the impact and showed him attempting to stop approaching vehicles before emergency crews arrived. Those images documented the sequence visible from the camera’s position, but they did not establish what each driver could see or why the Cadillac reached the stopped traffic at the reported speed.

California Highway Patrol officers and Los Angeles County firefighters responded. The CHP incident log classified the crash as fatal around 12:50 a.m., about 20 minutes after the first report. Officers conducted a sobriety test on one driver at the scene, although officials did not say that the test involved the Cadillac driver or announce an impairment finding. No arrest or citation was reported in the accounts available Tuesday.

Freeway Lanes Closed for Hours

The crash blocked the carpool lane and the first three northbound lanes as investigators and recovery crews worked near the 91 Freeway. A SigAlert followed, and all lanes reopened by about 4:45 a.m. The closure lasted through much of the predawn period on a segment where the two freeways meet.

CHP officials had not released a final collision sequence, the identities of the drivers or the identity of the person who died. They also had not said what caused the first crash that left vehicles stopped in the left lane. The investigation therefore remained focused on both the initial collision and the later impact involving the SUV and tow operation.