A deadly crash occurred early Wednesday morning on the 91 Freeway near the Orange County/Riverside County border resulting in at least one fatality according to reports from the California Highway Patrol (CHP) and other news sources.
The unfortunate incident initiated when a vehicle stalled at approximately 1 a.m. in the eastbound lanes, just east of the 241 Toll Road. Roughly five minutes later, a second vehicle crashed into the back of the stalled car. This impact caused one of the automobiles to ignite, scatters debris across the freeway lanes.
Video footage depicted firefighters at the scene working to extinguish the fire. Two additional vehicles appeared to have been implicated in the incident at some point, although it is unknown if they were involved in the initial crash or subsequent events. Urgent response by emergency crews was noted, however despite their efforts, at least one fatality was confirmed as a coroners van was dispatched to the crash site at 2 a.m.
While details regarding the crash and injury specifics have yet to be disclosed, freelance media company OnSceneTV has reported a potentially higher casualty count, claiming that there may have been two fatalities. However, authorities have not yet confirmed this figure.
For safety purposes, officials made the decision to close all eastbound lanes. While one lane was temporarily reopened, video showed all lanes fully closed again shortly after 4 a.m. No timeline regarding when the freeway will reopen has been provided. Updates on this developing story are to be expected.
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